
* 


iv ! 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



DSm 

Chap. Copyright No..__ 

Shelt___ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



7 



Historical Tales 



The Romance of Reality 



BY , 
/ 

CHARLES MORRIS 

AUTHOR OF "HALF-HOURS WITH THE BEST AMERICAN 

AUTHORS, 

ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND-TABLE," ETC. 



JAPAN AND CHINA 



PHILADELPHIA 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 

1898 



JJ 



o. 









Copyright, 1898, 

BY 

J. B. Lippincott Company, 




TWO COPIES RECEIVED- 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The First of the Mikados 5 

How Civilization came to Japan 12 

Yamato-Dake, a Hero of Eomance 19 

Jingu, the Amazon of Japan 27 

The Decline of the Mikados 35 

how the taira and the mlnamoto fought for power 41 

The Bayard of Japan 51 

The Hojo Tyranny 59 

The Tartar Invasion of Japan 67 

nobunaga and the fall of the buddhists .... 73 

How a Peasant Boy became Premier 80 <' 

The Founder of Yedo and of Modern Feudalism . 86 

The Progress of Christianity in Japan 97 

The Decline and Fall of the Christian Faith . . 106 

The Captivity of Captain Golownin 113 

The Opening of Japan 123 

The Mikado comes to his own again 133 

How the Empire of China arose and grew .... 142 

Confucius, the Chinese Sage 150 

The Founder of the Chinese Empire 156 

Kaotsou and the Dynasty of the Hans 172 

The Lucretia Borgia of China 180 

The Invasion of the Tartar Steppes 186 

The " Crimson Eyebrows' ' 192 

The Conquest of Central Asia 197 

The Siege of Sinching 202 

From the Shoemaker's Bench to the Throne . . . 205 

Three Notable Women 212 

The Reign of Taitsong the Great 217 

A Female Richelieu 223 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The Tartars and Genghis Khan . . 228 

How the Friars fared among the Tartars .... 236 

The Siege of Sianyang 242 

The Death-Struggle of China 249 

The Palace of Kublai Khan 255 

The Expulsion of the Mongols 264 

The Rise of the Manchus 272 

The Manchu Conquest of China 281 

The Career of a Desert Chief 290 

The Raid of the Goorkhas 299 

How Europe entered China 306 

The Burning of the Summer Palace 315 

A Great Christian Movement and its Fate .... 323 

corea and its neighbors 330 

The Battle of the Iron-clads 339 

Progress in Japan and China 347 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



CHINA AND JAPAN. 

PAGE 

Main Stkeet, Yokohama (Frontispiece). 

Shuzenji Village, Idzu 36 

Letter- Writing in Japan 63 

Karamo Temple, Nikko 78 

Chusenji Koad and Daiya Eiver 132 

A Chinese Irrigation Wheel 165 

A Chinese Pagoda t 197 

Shanghai, from the Water-Side 222 

Market Scene in Shanghai 255 

Chinese Gamblers 281 

Chair and Cago Carriers 306 

A Bronze-Worker's Shop 330 



THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS. 

The year 1 in Japan is the same date as 660 B.C. 
of the Christian era, so that Japan is now in its 
twenty-sixth century. Then everything began. Be- 
fore that date all is mystery and mythology. After 
that date there is something resembling history, 
though in the early times it is an odd mixture of 
history and fable. As for the gods of ancient Japan, 
they were many in number, and strange stories are 
told of their doings. Of the early men of the island 
kingdom we know very little. When the ancestors 
of the present Japanese arrived there they found 
the islands occupied by a race of savages, a people 
thickly covered with hair, and different in looks 
from all the other inhabitants of Asia. These in 
time were conquered, and only a few of them now 
remain, — known as Ainos, and dwelling in the island 
of Yezo. 

In the Japanese year 1 appeared a conqueror, 
Jimmu Tenno by name, the first of the mikados or 
emperors. He was descended from the goddess of 
the Sun, and made his home at the foot of Kiri- 
shima, a famous mountain in the island of Kiushiu, 
the most southerly of the four large islands of Japan. 
As to the smaller islands of that anchored em- 
pire, it may be well to say that they form a vast 
multitude of all shapes and sizes, being in all nearly 

5 



6 HISTORICAL TALES. 

four thousand in number. The Sea of Japan is 
truly a sea of islands. 

By way of the sailing clouds, and the blue sky 
which rests upon Kirishima's snowy top, the gods 
stepped down from heaven to earth. Down this ce- 
lestial path came Jimmu's ancestors, of whom there 
were four between him and the mighty Sun goddess. 
Of course no one is asked to accept this for fact. 
Somewhat too many of the fathers of nations were 
sons of the gods. It may be that Jimmu was an in- 
vader from some foreign land, or came from a band of 
colonists who had settled at the mountain's foot some 
time before, but the gods have the credit of his origin. 

At any rate, Hiuga, as the region in which he 
dwelt was called, was not likely to serve the ends 
of a party of warlike invaders, there being no part 
of Japan less fertile. So, as the story goes, Jimmu, 
being then fifty years old, set out to conquer some 
richer realm. He had only a few followers, some 
being his brothers, the others his retainers, all of 
them, in the language of the legends, being kami, 
or gods. Jimmu was righteous; the savages were 
wicked, though they too had descended from the gods. 
These savages dwelt in villages, each governed by 
a head-man or chief. They fought hard for their 
homes, and were not easily driven away. 

The story of Jimmu's exploits is given in the 
Kojiki, or " Book of Ancient Traditions," the oldest 
book of Japan. There is another, called the Nihongi, 
nearly as old, being composed in 720 a.d. These 
give us all that is known of the ancient history of 
the island, but are so full of myths and fables that 



THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS. 7 

very little of the story is to be trusted. Histories 
of later times are abundant, and form the most im- 
portant part of the voluminous literature of Japan. 
The islanders are proud of their history, and have 
preserved it with the greatest care, the annals of 
cities and families being as carefully preserved as 
those of the state. 

Jimmu the conqueror, as his story is told in the 
Kojikij met strange and frightful enemies on his 
march. Among them were troops of spiders of 
colossal size and frightful aspect, through whose 
threatening ranks he had to fight his way. Bight- 
headed serpents had also to be dealt with, and hos- 
tile deities — wicked gods who loved not the pious 
adventurer — disputed his path. Some of these he 
rid himself of by strength of arm and sharpness of 
sword, some by shrewdness of wit. His line of 
march lay to Usa, in the district of Buzen ; thence 
to Okada, where he took ship and made his way 
through the windings of the Suwo Nada, a part of 
the Inland Sea of Japan. 

Landing in Aki, Jimmu built himself a palace, 
and dwelt there for seven years, after which he sought 
the region of Bizen, where for eight years more he 
lived in peace. Then, stirred once more by his in- 
dwelling love of adventure, he took to the sea again 
with his faithful band and sailed to the eastward. 
Eough waves and swift currents here disputed his 
way, and it was with difficulty that he at length 
landed on Hondo, the main island of Japan, near 
where the city of Osaka now stands. He named 
the spot Nami Haya (" swift waves"). 



8 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Jimmu Tenno, the name of the conqueror, means 
" spirit of war," and so far victory had perched upon 
his banners as he marched. But now defeat came. 
The people of the great island fought fiercely for 
their homes and liberties, a brother of Jimmu was 
wounded, and he and his band of followers were 
driven back with loss. 

The gods surely had something to do with this, — 
for in those days the gods were thought to have little 
to do besides busying themselves with the affairs of 
men, — and the cause of the defeat was sought by 
means of sacred ceremonies and invocations. It 
proved to be an odd one. The legend states they 
had offended the Sun goddess by presuming to travel 
to the east, instead of following the path of the sun 
from east to west. This insult to the gods could 
be atoned for only by a voyage to the west. Taking 
to their ships again, they sailed westward around 
Kii, and landed at Arasaka. 

Jimmu had expiated his fault, and was again in 
favor with the gods. The chief whom he now faced 
surrendered without a blow, and presented the con- 
quering hero with a sword. A picture of this scene, 
famous in the early history of Japan, is printed on 
one of the Japanese greenback notes issued in 1872. 

The victor next sought the mountain-defended 
land of Yamato, which was to be reached only by 
difficult mountain-passes, unknown to the chief and 
his followers. But the gods had taken him in charge 
and came to his aid, sending a giant crow, whose 
wings were eight feet long, to guide him to the 
fertile soil of Yamato. A crow with smaller spread 



THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS. 9 

of wing might have done the work as well, but would 
have been less satisfactory to the legend-makers. 

Fierce was the conflict now impending, and stern 
the struggle of the natives for life and liberty. 
Here were no peaceful chiefs, like the one met at 
Arasaka, and only by dint of trenchant blows was 
the land to be won. On went the fight, victory now 
inclining to one side, now to the other, until in the 
midst of the uncertain struggle the gods sent down a 
deep and dark cloud, in whose thick shadow no man 
could see his foe, and the strife was stayed. Sud- 
denly, through the dense darkness, a bird in the 
shape of a hawk came swooping down from the 
skies, enveloped in a flood of golden light, and, dis- 
persing the cloud, rested upon the hero's bow. The 
light shed by his refulgent wings struck like the 
glare of lightning upon the eyes of the enemy, so 
dazzling them with its radiance that they broke into 
panic flight. 

A victory gained in such a fashion as this does not 
seem quite satisfactory to modern ideas. It is not fair 
to the other side. Yet it was in this way that the 
Greeks won victory on the plains of Troy, and that 
many other legendary victories were obtained. One 
cannot help wishing that the event of battle had 
been left to the decision of brave hearts and strong 
hands, instead of depending upon the interposition 
of the gods. But such was the ancient way, — if we 
choose to take legend for truth, — and we must needs 
receive what is given us, in default of better. 

At any rate, Jimmu was now lord of the land, and 
built himself a capital city at Kashiwabara, near the 



10 HISTORICAL TALES. 

site of the modern Kioto, from which he governed 
the wide realms that the sword had made his own. 
The gods were thanked for their aid by imposing 
religious ceremonies, and the people rejoiced in the 
peace that had come upon the land. The soldiers 
who had followed the hero to victory were amply 
rewarded, and his chiefs made lords of provinces, 
for the control over which they were to pay in mili- 
tary service. Thus early a form of feudal govern- 
ment was established in Japan. 

All being now at peace within the realm, the 
weapons of war were hung up in home and temple, 
sacrifices were offered to the goddess of the Sun, and 
the three sacred emblems of the new kingdom, the 
mirror, the sword, and the ball, were deposited with 
solemn ceremonies in the palace of the emperor. 

The remainder of Jimmu's story may be briefly 
told. He took for bride the princess Tatara, the 
daughter of one of his chiefs, and the most beautiful 
woman in all the land. The rest of his life was 
spent in strengthening his rule and extending the 
arts of civilization throughout his realm. Finally 
he died, one hundred and thirty-seven years old, as 
the Kojiki states, leaving three children, one of 
whom he had chosen as the heir of the throne. 

That there was an actual Jimmu Tenno is more 
than any one can say. Of course the crow and kite, 
serpents and spiders, are myths, transformed, per- 
haps, from some real incidents in his career, and the 
gods that helped and hindered were doubtless born 
in men's fancies in later days. 

The Chinese have their story of how Japan was 



THE FIRST OF THE MIKADOS. 11 

settled. Taiko, grandfather of the first emperor of 
the Shu dynasty, had three sons, and, loving the 
youngest most, wished to leave him his title and 
estate. These by law and custom belonged to the 
eldest, and the generous young prince, not wishing 
to injure his brother, secretly left home and sailed to 
the south. Leaving Southern China with a colony, 
he landed in Japan. This took place about forty-six 
years before the beginning of Jiinmu's conquering 
career, so that the dates, at least, agree. 

Whether there ever was a Jimmu or not, the 
Japanese firmly believe in him. He stands on the 
list as the first of the mikados, and the reigning 
emperor claims unbroken descent from him. April 
7 is looked upon as the anniversary of his ac- 
cession to the throne, and is the Japanese national 
holiday, which is observed with public rejoicings and 
military and naval salutes. The year 1 was the 
jyear in which Jimmu ascended the throne. 



HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO 
JAPAN. 

There is not much of absorbing interest in early 
Japanese history. For a period of some twelve hun- 
dred years nearly all that we know of the mikados 
is that they " lived long and died happy." No fewer 
than twelve of these patriarchs lived to be over one 
hundred years old, and one held the throne for one 
hundred and one years. But they were far surpassed 
in longevity by a statesman named Takenouchi, who 
served five mikados as prime minister and dwelt 
upon the earth for more than three hundred and 
fifty years. There was not much " rotation in office" 
in those venerable times. 

We must come down for six hundred years from 
the days of Jimmu to find an emperor who made 
any history worth the telling. In truth, a mist of 
fable lies over all the works of these ancient wor- 
thies, and in telling their stories we can never be 
sure how much of them is true. Very likely there 
is sound history at the bottom, but it is ornamented 
with a good deal that it is not safe to believe. 

The first personage after Jimmu upon whom we 

need dwell was a wise and worthy mikado named 

Sujin, who spent his days in civilizing his people, 

probably no easy task. The gap of six centuries 

12 



HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN. 13 

between Jimmu's time and his had, no doubt, its 
interesting events, but none of particular importance 
are upon record. 

As a boy Sujin displayed courage and energy, 
together with the deepest piety. As a man he 
mourned over the sinfulness of his people, and earn- 
estly begged them to give up their wicked ways and 
turn from sin to the worship of the gods. He was not 
at first very successful. The people were steeped in 
iniquity, and continued so until a pestilence was sent 
to change the current of their sinful thoughts. 

The pious monarch called upon the gods to stay 
the plague, doing penance by rising early, fasting, 
and bathing, — possibly an unusual ceremony in those 
days. The gods at length heard the voice of the 
king, and the pestilence ceased. It had done its 
work. The people were convinced of the error of 
their ways and turned from wantonness to worship, 
and everywhere religious feeling revived. 

As yet Japan possessed no temples or shrines, all 
worship being conducted in the open air. The three 
holy emblems of the nation, the mirror, the sword, 
and the ball, had thus far been kept within the pal- 
ace. Wherever they were the divine power dwelt, 
and the mikado, living within their influence, was 
looked upon as equal to a god. 

But the deities taught Sujin — or at least he 
thought they did — that this was not the proper place 
for them. A rebellion broke out, due, doubtless, to 
the evil spirit of men, but arising, in his opinion, 
from the displeasure of the gods, who were not 
pleased with his keeping these sacred objects under 



14 HISTORICAL TALES. 

his own roof, where they might be defiled by the 
unholiness of man. He determined, therefore, to 
provide for them a home of their own, and to do so 
built the first temple in his realm. The sacred sym- 
bols were placed under the care of his daughter, who 
was appointed priestess of the shrine. From that 
day to this a virgin princess of imperial blood has 
been chosen as custodian of these emblems of deific 
power and presence. 

The first temple was built at Kasanui, a village in 
Yamato. But the goddess Amaterasu warned the 
priestess that this locality was not sufficiently holy, 
so she set off with the mirror in search of a place 
more to the taste of the gods, carrying it from 
province to province, until old age overtook her, yet 
finding no spot that reflected the clear light of holi- 
ness from the surface of the sacred mirror. Another 
priestess took up the task, many places were chosen 
and abandoned, and finally, in 4 a.d., the shrine of 
Uji, in Ise, was selected. This apparently has proved 
satisfactory to the deities of Japan, for the emblems 
of their divinity still rest in this sacred shrine. Sujin 
had copies made of the mirror and the sword, which 
were kept in the " place of reverence," a separate 
building within the palace. From this arose the 
imperial chapel, which still exists within the palace 
bounds. 

We speak of the " palace" of the mikado, but we 
must warn our readers not to associate ideas of 
splendor or magnificence with this word. The Em- 
peror of Japan dwells not in grandeur, but in sim- 
plicity. From the earliest times the house of the 



HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN. 15 

emperor has resembled a temple rather than a pal- 
ace. The mikado is himself half a god in Japanese 
eyes, and is expected to be content with the simple 
and austere surroundings of the images of the gods. 
There are no stateliness, no undue ornament, no 
gaudy display such as minor mortals may delight in. 
Dignified simplicity surrounds the imperial person, 
and when he dies he is interred in the simplest of 
tombs, wonderfully unlike the gorgeous burial-places 
in which the bodies of the monarchs of continental 
Asia lie in state. 

When Sujin came to the throne the people of 
Japan were still in a state of barbarism, and there 
was scarce a custom in the state that did not call for 
reform. A new and better system of arranging the 
periods of time was established, the year being 
divided into twenty-four months or periods, which 
bear such significant names as " Beginning of Spring," 
" Eain-water," " Awakening of the Insects," "Clear 
Weather," " Seed-rain," etc. A census was ordered 
to be taken at regular intervals, and by way of taxa- 
tion all persons, men and women alike, were obliged 
to work for the government for a certain number 
of days each year. 

To promote commerce, the building of boats was 
encouraged, and regular communication was opened 
with Corea, from which country many useful ideas 
and methods were introduced into Japan. Even a 
prince of one of the provinces of Corea came to the 
island empire to live. Agriculture was greatly de- 
veloped by Sujin, canals being dug and irrigation ex- 
tensively provided for. Eice, the leading article of 



16 HISTORICAL TALES. 

food, needs to be grown in well-watered fields, and 
the stealing of water from a neighbor's field is looked 
upon as a crime of deepest dye. In old times the 
water-thief was dealt with much as the horse-thief 
was recently dealt with in some parts of our own 
country. 

Sujin's work was continued by his successor, who, 
in 6 a.d., ordered canals and sluices to be dug in 
more than eight hundred places. At present Japan 
has great irrigating reservoirs and canals, through 
which the water is led for miles to the farmers' fields. 
In one mountain region is a deep lake of pure water, 
five thousand feet above the sea. Many centuries 
ago a tunnel was made to draw off this water, and 
millions of acres of soil are still enriched by its fer- 
tilizing flood. Such are some of the results of Sujin's 
wise reforms. 

Another of the labors of Sujin the civilizer was to 
devise a military system for the defence of his realm. 
In the north, the savage Ainos still fought for the 
land which had once been all their own, and between 
them and the subjects of the mikado border warfare 
rarely ceased. Sujin divided the empire into four 
military departments, with a shogun, or general, over 
each. At a later date military magazines were es- 
tablished, where weapons and rations could be had 
at any time in case of invasion by the wild tribes 
on the border or of rebellion within the realm. In 
time a powerful military class arose, and war became 
a profession in Japan. Throughout the history of the 
island kingdom the war spirit has been kept alive, 
and Japan is to-day the one nation of Eastern Asia 



HOW CIVILIZATION CAME TO JAPAN. 17 

with a love of and a genius for warlike deeds. So 
important grew the shoguns in time that nearly all 
the power of the empire fell into their hands, and 
when the country was opened to foreign nations, 
one of these, calling himself the Tai Kun (Tycoon), 
posed as the emperor himself, the mikado being lost 
to sight behind the authority of this military chief. 

At length old age began to weigh heavily upon 
Sujin, and the question of who should succeed him 
on the throne greatly troubled his imperial mind. 
He had two sons, but his love for them was so equally 
divided that he could not choose between their 
claims. In those days the heirship to the throne 
seems to have depended upon the father's will. Not 
being able to decide for himself, he appealed to fate 
or divination, asking his sons one evening to tell him 
the next morning what they had dreamed during the 
night. On their dreams he would base his decision. 

The young princes washed their bodies and 
changed their clothes, — seemingly a religious rite. 
Visions came to them during the still watches of the 
night, and the next morning they eagerly told their 
father what dreams the gods had sent. 

" I dreamed that I climbed a mountain," said the 
elder, " and on reaching its summit I faced the east, 
and eight times I cut with the sword and thrust 
with the spear." 

" I climbed the same mountain," said the younger, 
" and stretched snares of cords on every side, seek- 
ing to catch the sparrows that destroy the grain." 

The emperor listened intently, and thus sagely in- 
terpreted the visions of his sons. 

2 



18 HISTORICAL TALES. 

" You, my son," he said to the elder, " looked in 
one direction. You will go to the east and become 
its governor. You looked in every direction," he 
said to the younger. " You will govern on all sides. 
The gods have selected you as my heir." 

His words came true. The younger became ruler 
over all the land ; the elder became a warrior in the 
east and governor over its people. 

And Sujin the civilizer, having lived long and 
ruled wisely, was gathered to his fathers, and slept 
deaths dreamless sleep. 



YAMATO-DAKE, A HERO OF 
ROMANCE. 

We have now to deal with the principal hero of 
Japanese legend, Yamato-Dake, the conqueror. His 
story is full of myth and fable, but there is history 
in it, too, and it is well worth the telling. Every 
ancient nation has its legendary hero, who performs 
wonderful feats, dares fearful perils, and has not 
only the strength of man but the power of magic 
and the wiles of evil spirits to contend against. We 
give the story as it stands, with all its adventures 
and supernatural incidents. 

This Japanese hero of romance, born 71 a.d., was 
the son of Keiko, the twelfth in line of the mikados. 
In form he was manly and graceful, fair of aspect, 
and of handsome and engaging presence. While 
still a youth he led an army to Kiushiu, in which 
island a rebellion had broken out. In order to enter 
the camp of the rebel force, he disguised himself as 
a dancing-girl, a character which his beardless face 
and well-rounded figure enabled him easily to assume. 
Presenting himself before the sentinel, his beauty of 
face and form disarmed the soldier of all doubt, and 
he led the seeming damsel to the presence of the 
rebel chief, from whom he hoped for a rich reward. 

Here the visitor danced before the chief and his 

19 



20 HISTORICAL TALES. 

guests with such winning grace that they were all 
captivated, and at the end of the dance the delighted 
chief seized his prize by the hand and drew the 
seemingly coy damsel into his own tent. Once within 
its folds, the yielding girl suddenly changed into a 
heroic youth who clasped the rebel with a vigorous 
embrace and slew him on the spot. For this ex- 
ploit the youthful prince received his title of Yamato- 
Dake, or " Yamato the Warlike." 

Thirteen years later a revolt broke out among the 
wild tribes of Eastern Japan, and the young hero 
marched with an army to subdue them. His route 
led him past the shrine of the Sun goddess, in Ise, 
and here the priestess presented him with the sacred 
sword, one of the holy emblems of the realm. His 
own sword was left under a neighboring pine. 

Armed with this magical blade, he continued his 
march into the wilds of Suruga, the haunt of the in- 
surgent Ainos. But he found it no easy matter to 
bring these savage foes to an open fight. Fleeing 
before his army into the woods and mountains, they 
fought him from behind rocks and trees, it being 
their policy of warfare to inflict damage upon the 
enemy with as little loss as possible to themselves. 
Like the American Indians, these savages were used 
to all the forest wiles, quick to avail themselves of 
every sound or sign, able to make their way with 
ease through tangled thickets and pathless forests, 
and adepts in all the lore of wood and wild. 

As the army of Yamato pressed them too closely, 
they set fire to the dry underbrush which densely 
surrounded their lurking-place. The high wind car- 



YAMAT0-DAK6, a hero of romance. 21 

ried the flames in roaring waves towards the Jap- 
anese army, which was in the most serious danger, 
for it was encamped amid tall, dry grass, which 
quickly became a sea of soaring flame. With yells 
of delight the Ainos gazed upon the imminent peril 
of their foes ; but suddenly their exultation was 
changed to dismay. For at this moment of danger 
the Sun goddess appeared to Yamato, and at her sug- 
gestion he drew the sacred sword — Murakumo, or 
" Cloud Cluster" — and cut the grass that thickly 
rose around him. Before the magic of the blade 
fire itself was powerless, and the advancing flames 
turned and swept towards the enemy, many of whom 
were consumed, while the others fled in panic fear. 
Grateful to the gods for this timely aid, the hero 
changed the name of the sword, decreeing that 
thenceforth it should be known as Kusanagi, or 
" Grass-Mower." 

His route now led, by a mountain pathway, into 
the great plain of Eastern Japan, afterwards known 
as the Kuanto, which extends from the central 
ranges to the Pacific coast. Eeaching the shores of 
the Bay of Yedo, he looked across from its southern 
headland to the opposite peninsula of Awa, whose 
hills seemed very close at hand. 

" It will be easy to cross that channel," he said : 
l ' it is but a trifle. Let the army embark." 

He did not know how treacherous was the navi- 
gation of this strait, whose weather is never to be 
trusted, and whose winds, tides, and currents are 
baffling and perilous. Embarking with his follow- 
ers, he looked for an easy and rapid progress ; but 



22 HISTORICAL TALES. 

a terrible storm arose, tossing the boats so frightfully 
that death seemed their sure fate. 

Yamato was not at a loss to know what was 
amiss. He was familiar with the ways of the gods, 
and knew that some hostile deity was at work to 
ruin him. His contemptuous remark about the ease 
of the passage had given deep offence to the Japan- 
ese Neptune, the god of the Sea, who was punish- 
ing him for his lack of reverence. There was only 
one way by which the angry deity might be ap- 
peased, — the sacrifice of a victim to his wrath. But 
who among them was ready to yield life for duty ? 
The question was answered by Tachibana, the youth- 
ful wife of the chief, who was in the boat with her 
lord. With a hurried farewell, the devoted woman 
sprang into the wild waves, which in a moment 
swept her far away. It was an acceptable sacrifice. 
The winds fell, the waves went down, the clouds 
broke, and soon the sun was serenely shining on 
ruffled sea and tranquil shore. 

All that Yamato saw again pertaining to his 
wife was her perfumed wooden comb, which floated 
ashore and was dedicated by him as a precious relic 
in a shrine which he built to the gods. A shrine 
still stands on the spot, which is within the modern 
city of Tokio, and there to-day fishermen and 
sailors worship the spirits of Yamato and his sainted 
wife. 

Thence the hero sailed along the shore, subduing 
the tribes as he went, until the northern boundary 
of the empire was reached. Here the leaders of the 
Ainos had gathered a great army to repel the in- 



YAMAT0-DAK3, a hero of romance. 23 

vader. But on seeing the ships, which were new 
objects to their eyes, awe and consternation over- 
whelmed them. 

"They are living things," they said, — " strange 
moving monsters who glide over the sea and bring 
our foes to our undoing. The gods must have sent 
them, and will destroy us if we draw bow against 
these works of their hands." 

Throwing down their arms, they surrendered to 
Yamato when he sprang ashore, and agreed to pay 
tribute to the state. Taking their leaders as host- 
ages for their good conduct, the hero turned home- 
ward, eager to reach again the capital from which 
he had been so long away. His route was now 
overland, and to entertain himself on the long 
journey he invented a form of poetic verse which 
is still much in use by the poets of Japan. 

As yet all his work had been done on the plain 
near the shores of the sea. Now, marching inland, 
he ascended to the great table-land of Shinano, 
from twenty-five hundred to five thousand feet above 
the sea, around and within which lie the loftiest 
mountains of Japan. From this height could be 
obtained a magnificent view of the Bay of Tedo, the 
leafy plains surrounding, and the wide-extending 
ocean. Japan has no more beautiful scene, and 
Yamato stood silently gazing over its broad ex- 
panse, the memory of his beloved wife, who had 
given her life for his, coming back to him as he 
gazed. " Adzuma, adzuma" (" my wife, my wife"), 
fell in sad accents from his lips. These words still 
haunt that land. In the poet's verse that broad plain 



24 HISTORICAL TALES. 

is to-day called Adzuma, and one of the great ships 
of the new navy of Japan is named Adzuma kuan. 

It was no light task which now lay before the 
army and its chief. Even to-day the mountains of 
Shinano are far from easy to cross. Then they were 
unknown, and their crossing was a work of the 
greatest difficulty and risk. There were rocky defiles 
and steep ascents to climb, river torrents to pass, 
rugged paths to mount, without a road to follow or 
a guide to conduct, and with clouds and fogs to 
double the dangers of the way. Here, to their fancy, 
in caves and ravines hostile spirits lurked; every 
mountain had its tutelary god; at every step the 
deities of good and evil seemed to be at strife for 
their destiny, and with all the perils of the way the 
gods were thought to have something to do. 

Thus on one day the god of the mountain came to 
Yamato in the form of a white deer, with purpose to 
work him evil. The hero, on the alert against the 
hostile spirits, threw wild garlic in the animal's eyes, 
causing so violent a smarting pain that it died. At 
once a dense mist descended upon the hill-slopes and 
the path vanished, leaving the army to grope onward 
in danger and dismay. But at this moment of dread 
a white dog appeared — a god again, but a friendly 
one this time — w T ho led the bewildered soldiers in 
safety to the plains of Mino. 

But they were not yet free from the wiles of the 
white deer. Its spirit now appeared, discharging 
among them poisonous gases, before whose stupefying 
influence they fell helpless to the ground. The wild 
garlic again was their salvation. Some one ate of it 



YAMATO-DAKl, A HERO OF ROMANCE. 25 

with happy effect, and gave it to all the men and 
animals, so that all got well again. Wild garlic is 
still looked upon in Japan as a specific against dis- 
ease and as a safeguard against witches. For this 
purpose it is hung up before gates and doorways in 
times of epidemic or superstitious fear. 

The hero next came to Ibuki yama, a cone-shaped 
mountain whose flattened summit seemed to pierce 
the skies. Here too dwelt a hostile spirit, who dis- 
puted the way, and against whom Yamato advanced 
. unarmed, leaving his sword, " Grass-Mower," under 
a tree at the mountain's foot. The gods of Japan, 
perhaps, were proof against weapons of steel. Not 
far had the hero gone before the deity appeared 
upon his path, transformed into a threatening ser- 
pent. Leaping over it, he pursued his way. But 
now the incensed deity flung darkness on the moun- 
tain's breast, and the hero, losing his path, swooned 
and fell. Fortunately, a spring of healing water 
bubbled beside him, a drink from which enabled him 
to lift his head. Onward he went, still feeble, for 
the breath of the serpent god was potent for ill, 
and at length reached Otsu, in the district of Ise, 
where, under the pine-tree, he found the sword 
which he had left there on setting out, three years 
before. His gladness found vent in a poem com- 
posed of these words : " O pine, if you were a man, 
I should give you this sword to wear for your 
fidelity." 

The conquering prince was now near the end of 
his career. Still sick unto death from his adven- 
ture upon the mountain, he told before the shrine 



26 HISTORICAL TALES. 

of the gods the tale of his victories and perils, offered 
to them his weapons and prisoners, and thanked 
them piously for their care. Then he sent a report 
of his doings to his father, the mikado, and begged 
to see him. Keiko, the father, sent a messenger with 
words of comfort, but when he arrived the heroic 
Yamato-Dake was dead. 

He was buried near where he died, and from his 
tomb a white bird was seen to fly. On opening the 
tomb nothing was found but the dead hero's chaplet 
and robes. The place where the bird was seen to 
alight bears still a name signifying Imperial Tomb 
of the White Bird. Thus ended the career of the 
leading Japanese hero of romance. His story sounds 
like a fairy-tale, though it may well be that Yamato- 
Dake was a real person and that many of the things 
told of him actually occurred. 



yiNGU, THE AMAZON OF 
JAPAN. 

To-day the women of Japan are kept in seclusion 
and take no part in affairs of state. This does not 
seem to have been always the case. In the far past, 
we are told, women often rose to posts of honor and 
dignity, and some even filled the mikado's throne. 
Nor is this all. To a woman is given the glory of 
the greatest event in the history of ancient Japan, 
the conquest of Corea, from which land civilization, 
literature, and a new religion subsequently came to 
the island realm. 

The name of this Japanese heroine was Okinaga 
Tarashi hime, but she is best known under the title of 
Jingu, or "warlike deed." The character given her 
in tradition is an attractive one, combining beauty, 
piety, intelligence, energy, and valor. The waves 
of the sea, the perils of the battle-field, and the toils 
or terrors of war alike failed to fill the soul of this 
heroine with fear, and the gods marched with her 
and aided her in her enterprises. Great as she was 
in herself, the Japanese give her higher honor still, 
as the mother of their god of war. 

This imperial Amazon was the wife of the mikado 
Chinai, who in 193 a.d. set out at the head of his 
army for Kiushiu, a rebellion having broken out at 
Kumaso, in that island. His courageous wife took 

27 



28 HISTORICAL TALES. 

ship and followed him to the seat of war. On her 
voyage thither she stopped at one of the islands of 
the Inland Sea to offer worship to the gods. And 
as she did so the voice of the deity of the shrine 
came to her ears. 

"Why do you trouble yourself to conquer Ku- 
maso?" spoke the mysterious voice. "It is but a 
poor and barren spot, not worth your labor nor the 
work of your army. There is a country, larger and 
richer by far, a land as lovely as the face of a fair 
virgin, dazzlingly bright with gold, silver, and rare 
colors, and rich with treasures of every kind. Such 
a noble region is Shiraki [Corea]. Continue to wor- 
ship me, and this rich land shall be yours without 
the shedding of blood. As for Kumaso, my help 
and the glory of your conquest will cause it to 
yield." 

On joining the emperor, Jingu repeated to him 
the words of the god, but she found in him a doubt- 
ing listener. There was a high mountain near the 
camp, and to the summit of this he climbed and 
looked far out over the westward sea. No land was 
visible to his eyes where she had declared the rich 
realm of Shiraki lay, and he was confirmed in his 
doubts. On returning to her he said, — 

" I looked everywhere, and saw water alone ; no 
land was to be seen. Is there a country in the sky ? 
If not, your words are false. And my ancestors 
worshipped all the gods ; or if there are any they did 
not worship, I know them not. Why, then, should 
they not speak to me ?" 

" If you credit only your doubts," answered the 



29 

god through the lips of the empress, "and declare 
that there is no country where I have said a country 
exists, you blaspheme, and shall never see this land, 
but the empress, your wife, shall have the glory of 
its conquest." 

Even this was not enough to overcome the doubts 
of the emperor. He was not ready to believe that 
a god could speak through a woman, and refused to 
risk his army on an unknown sea. On the contrary, 
he led it against Kumaso, from which the rebels 
drove him back in defeat. Soon after he died sud- 
denly in camp, or, as some declare, was slain in battle 
by an arrow. Takenouchi, his minister, kept his 
death a secret from the soldiers, while the valiant 
Jingu continued the war and soon brought the rebel- 
lion to an end. 

The death of the mikado had left the power of 
the state and the command of the army in the hands 
of his wife, who had shown her valor and ability in 
the conquest of Kumaso. Her mind was now filled 
with the promise of the god and the hope of new 
glory to be won beyond the sea. But first she 
deemed it wise to obtain further signs from the 
celestial powers. 

Going to the shore of the sea, she baited a hook 
with a grain of rice and threw it into the water, 
saying, " If a fish be caught with this grain of rice, 
then the conquest of a rich country shall indeed be 
mine." 

When she drew up the line, to her delight she saw 
a fish on the hook. u Medzurashiki mono /" (" won- 
derful thing !"), she exclaimed, viewing the marvel 



30 HISTORICAL TALES. 

as a sure signal that the gods approved her design. 
Her words have been corrupted into Matsura, which 
is the name of the place to this day, and here, every 
year, at the opening of the fourth Japanese month, 
the women of the vicinity go fishing, no men being 
permitted to cast in their lines on that day. 

The pious empress, as if some of the doubts of 
the mikado had clung to her mind, sought still an- 
other sign from the gods. She now let her long 
hair fall into the water, saying that if the gods 
favored her design her tresses would come out of the 
water dry and parted in two divisions. Again the 
celestial powers heard. Her abundant black locks 
left the water dry and neatly parted as by a comb. 

Doubt no longer troubled her soul. She at once 
ordered the generals of the army to recruit new 
forces, build ships, and prepare for an ocean enter- 
prise. 

" On this voyage depends the glory or the ruin of 
our country," she said to them. " I intrust its details 
to you, and will hold you to blame if anything goes 
amiss through lack of care. I am a woman, and am 
young. But I shall undertake this enterprise, and 
go with you disguised as a man, trusting to you and 
my army, and, above all, to the gods. If we are 
wise and valiant, a wealthy country shall be ours. 
If we succeed, the glory shall be yours ; if through 
evil fortune we fail, on me shall lie all the guilt and 
disgrace." 

The enthusiasm of the empress infected the com- 
manders, who promised her their full support in her 
enterprise, which was by far the greatest that Japan 



JINGU, THE AMAZON OP JAPAN. 31 

had ever ventured upon. The ships were built, but 
the perils of the voyage frightened the people, and 
the army increased but slowly. Impatient at the 
delay, but with no thought of giving up her task, 
the empress again appealed to the gods. A shrine 
of purification was built, lustrations were made, 
sacrifices offered, and prayers for speedy success 
sent up to the celestial hosts. The Kami, or gods, 
proved favorable still. Troops now came rapidly in. 
Soon a large army was assembled and embarked, 
and all was ready for the enterprise. It was the 
year 201 a.d., the first year of the second Christian 
century. 

Jingu now issued her final orders, to the following 
effect : 

" There must be no plundering. 

" Despise not a few enemies, and fear not many. 

" Give mercy to those who yield, but no quarter to 
the stubborn. 

" The victors shall be rewarded ; deserters shall be 
punished." 

Then through her lips the gods spoke again : 
" The Spirit of Peace will always guide and protect 
you. The Spirit of War will guide your ships across 
the seas." 

It must here be remarked that the annals of Japan 
do not seem to be in full harmony. In the days of 
Sujin the civilizer, a century and a half earlier, we 
are told that there was regular communication be- 
tween Corea and Kiushiu, and that a prince of 
Corea came to Japan to live ; while the story of 
Jingu seems to indicate that Corea was absolutely 



32 HISTORICAL TALES. 

unknown to the islanders. There were none to pilot 
the fleet across the seas, and the generals seemed 
ignorant of where Corea was to be found, or of the 
proper direction in which to steer. They lacked 
chart and compass, and had only the sun, the stars, 
and the flight of birds as guides. As Noah sent out 
birds from his ark to spy out the land, so they sent 
fishermen ahead of the fleet, and with much the 
same result. The first of these messengers went far 
to the west, and returned with the word that land 
was nowhere to be seen. Another messenger was 
sent, and came back with cheering news. On the 
western horizon he had seen the snowy peaks of 
distant mountains. 

Inspired by this report, the adventurers sailed 
boldly on. The winds, the waves, the currents, all 
aided their speed. The gods even sent shoals of 
huge fishes in their wake, which heaped up the 
waves and drove them forward, lifting the sterns 
and making the prows leap like living things. 

At length land was seen by all, and with shouts 
of joy they ran their ships ashore upon the beach of 
Southern Corea. The sun shone in all its splendor 
upon the gallant host, which landed speedily upon 
the new-found shores, where it was marshalled in 
imposing array. 

The Coreans seem to have been as ignorant of 
geography as the Japanese. The king of this part 
of the country, hearing that a strange fleet had come 
from the east and a powerful army landed on his 
shores, was lost in terror and amazement. 

" Who can these be, and whence have they come V 



JINGU, THE AMAZON OF JAPAN. 33 

he exclaimed. " We have never heard of any coun- 
try beyond the seas. Have the gods forsaken us, 
and sent this host of strangers to our undoing ?" 

Such was the fear of the king that he made no re- 
sistance to the invaders. Corean envoys were sent 
to them with the white flags of peace, and the 
country was given up without a fight. The king 
offered to deliver all his treasures to the invading 
host, agreed to pay tribute to Japan, and promised 
to furnish hostages in pledge of his good faith. His 
nobles joined with him in his oath. The rivers 
might flow backward, they declared, or the pebbles 
in the river-beds leap up to the stars, but they would 
never break their word. 

Jingu now set up weapons before the gate of the 
king in token of her suzerainty and of the peace 
which had been sworn. The spoils won from the 
conquered land consisted of eighty ships well laden 
with gold and precious goods of every kind the coun- 
try possessed, while eighty noble Coreans were taken 
as hostages for the faith of the king. And now, with 
blare of trumpet and clash of weapons, with shouts 
of triumph and songs of praise to the gods, the fleet 
set sail for home. Two months had sufficed for the 
whole great enterprise. 

Nine empresses in all have sat upon the throne 
of Japan, but of these Jingu alone won martial 
renown and gained a great place in history. The 
Japanese have always felt proud of this conquest of 
Corea, the first war in which their armies had gone 
to a foreign country to fight. They had, to use 
their common phrase, made "the arms of Japan 

3 



34 HISTORICAL TALES. 

shine beyond the seas," and the glory of the ex- 
ploit descended not only on the Amazon queen, but 
in greater measure upon her son, who was born 
shortly after her return to Japan. 

The Japanese have given more honor to this son, 
still unborn when the conquest was achieved, than 
to his warlike mother. It was in him, not in his 
mother, they declare, that the Spirit of War resided, 
and he is now worshipped in Japan as the god of 
War. Ojin by name, he became a great warrior, 
lived to be a hundred and ten years old, and was 
deified after his death. Through all the centuries 
since he has been worshipped by the people, and by 
soldiers in particular. Some of the finest temples 
in Japan have been erected in his honor, and the land 
is full of shrines to this Eastern Mars. He is repre- 
sented with a frightful and scowling countenance, 
holding in his arms a broad, two-edged sword. In 
all periods of Japanese art a favorite subject has 
been the group of the snowy-bearded Takenouchi, 
the Japanese Methuselah, holding the infant Ojin in 
his arms, while Jingu, the heroic mother, stands by 
in martial robes. 



THE DECLINE OF THE MI K AD OS. 

Our journey through Japanese history now takes 
us over a wide leap, a period of nearly a thousand 
years, during which no event is on record of suffi- 
cient interest to call for special attention. The 
annals of Japan are in some respects minute, but 
only at long intervals does a hero of importance 
rise above the general level of ordinary mortals. 
We shall, therefore, pass with a rapid tread over 
this long period, giving only its general historical 
trend. 

The conquest of Corea was of high importance 
to Japan. It opened the way for a new civilization 
to flow into the long isolated island realm. For 
centuries afterwards Corea served as the channel 
through which the arts and thoughts of Asia 
reached the empire of the mikados. We are told 
of envoys bearing tribute from Corea of horses, and 
of tailors, and finally a schoolmaster, being sent 
to Japan. The latter, Wani by name, is said to 
have introduced the art of writing. Mulberry-trees 
were afterwards planted and silk-culture was un- 
dertaken. Then came more tailors, and after them 
architects and learned men. At length, in the year 
552, a party of doctors, astronomers, astrologists, 
and mathematicians came from Corea to the Jap- 
anese court, and with them a number of Buddhist 

35 



36 HISTORICAL TALES. 

missionaries, who brought a new religion into the 
land. 

Thus gradually the arts, sciences, letters, and re- 
ligions of Asia made their way into the island king- 
dom, and the old life of Japan was transformed. A 
wave of foreign civilization had flowed across the 
seas to give new life and thought to the island people, 
and the progress of Japan from the barbarism of 
the far past towards the civilization of the present 
day then fairly began. 

Meanwhile, important changes were taking place 
in the government. From the far-off days of 
Jimmu, the first emperor, until a century after 
Buddhism was introduced, the mikados were the 
actual rulers of their people. The palace was not a 
place of seclusion, the face of the monarch was vis- 
ible to his subjects, and he appeared openly at the 
head of the army and in the affairs of government. 
This was the golden age of the imperial power. A 
leaden age was to succeed. 

The change began in the appointment by Sujin of 
shoguns or generals over the military departments 
of the government. Gradually two distinct official 
castes arose, those in charge of civil affairs and 
those at the head of military operations. As the 
importance of these officials grew, they stood be- 
tween the emperor and his subjects, secluding him 
more and more from the people. The mikado grad- 
ually became lost to view behind a screen of official- 
ism, which hid the throne. Eventually all the mili- 
tary power fell into the hands of the shoguns, and 
the mikado was seen no more at the head of his 



X 

c 

N 



> 
CD 




THE DECLINE OF THE MIKADOS. 37 

army. His power decayed, as he became to the 
people rather a distant deity than a present and 
active ruler. There arose in time a double govern- 
ment, with two capitals and centres of authority ; 
the military caste became dominant, anarchy ruled 
for centuries, the empire was broken up into a series 
of feudal provinces and baronies, and the unity of 
the past was succeeded by the division of authority 
which existed until far within the nineteenth cen- 
tury. The fact that there were two rulers, in two 
capitals, gave the impression that there were two 
emperors in Japan, one spiritual and one secular, and 
when Commodore Perry reached that country, in 
1853, he entered into a treaty with the shogun or 
"tycoon," the head of the military caste, under the 
belief that he was dealing with the actual ruler of 
Japan. The truth is, there has never been but one 
emperor in Japan, the mikado. His power has 
varied at times, but he is now again the actual and 
visible head of the empire, and the shoguns, who 
once lorded it so mightily, have been swept out of 
existence. 

This explanation is necessary in order that readers 
may understand the peculiar conditions of Japanese 
history. Gradually the mikado became surrounded 
by a hedge of etiquette which removed him from 
the view of the outer world. He never appeared 
in public, and none of his subjects, except his wives 
and his highest ministers, ever saw his face. He 
sat on a throne of mats behind a curtain, even his 
feet not being allowed to touch the earth. If he left 
the palace to go abroad in the city, the journey was 



38 HISTORICAL TALES. 

made in a closely curtained car drawn by bullocks. 
To the people, the mikado became like a deity, his 
name sacred and inviolable, his power in the hands 
of the boldest of his subjects. 

Buddhism had now become the official religion 
of the empire, priests multiplied, monasteries were 
founded, and the court became the chief support of 
the new faith, the courtiers zealously studying the 
sacred books of India, while the mikado and his 
empress sought by every means to spread the new 
belief among their people. 

An emperor thus occupied could not pay much 
attention to the duties of government, and the power 
of the civil ministers and military chiefs grew accord- 
ingly. The case was like that of the Merovingian 
monarchs of France and the Mayors of the Palace, 
who in time succeeded to the throne. The mikados 
began to abdicate after short reigns, to shave off 
their hair to show that they renounced the world 
and its vanities, to become monks and spend the re- 
mainder of their days in the cloister. These short 
reigns helped the shoguns and ministers in their 
ambitious purposes, until in time the reins of power 
fell into the hands of a few great families, who fought 
furiously with one another for the control. It is with 
the feuds of these families that we have now to do. 
The mikados had sunk out of sight, being regarded 
by the public with awe as spiritual emperors, while 
their ministers rose into power and became the 
leaders of life and the lords of events in Japan. 

First among these noble families to gain control 
was that of the Fujiwara (Wistaria meadow). They 



THE DECLINE OF THE MIKADOS. 39 

were of royal origin, and rose to leading power in 
the year 645, when Kamatari, the founder of the 
family, became regent of the empire. All the great 
offices of the empire in time fell into the hands of 
the Fujiwaras: they married their daughters to the 
mikados, surrounded them with their adherents, and 
governed the empire in their name. In the end they 
decided who should be mikado, ruled the country 
like monarchs, and became in effect the proprietors 
of the throne. In their strong hands the mikado 
sank into a puppet, to move as they pulled the 
strings. 

But the Fujiwaras were not left to lord it alone. 
Other great families sought a share of the power, 
and their rivalry often ended in war and bloodshed. 
The most ancient of these rivals was the family of 
the Sugawara. Greatest in this family was the 
renowned Sugawara Michizane, a polished courtier 
and famous scholar, whose talents raised him to the 
highest position in the realm. Japan had no man 
of greater learning; his historical works became 
famous, and some of them are still extant. But his 
genius did not save him from misfortune. His rivals, 
the Fujiwara, in the end succeeded in having him 
banished to Kiushiu, where, exposed to dire poverty, 
he starved to death. This martyr to official rivalry 
is now worshipped in Japan as a deity, the patron 
god of literature and letters. Temples have been 
erected to him, and students worship at his shrine. 

At a later date two other powerful families became 
rivals for the control of the empire and added to the 
anarchy of the realm. The first of these was the 



40 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Taira family, founded 889 a.d., whose members at- 
tained prominence as great military chiefs. The 
second was the Minamoto family, founded somewhat 
later, which rose to be a powerful rival of the Taira, 
their rivalry often taking the form of war. For 
centuries the governmental and military history of 
Japan was made up of a record of the jealousies and 
dissensions of these rival families, in whose hands 
lay war and peace, power and place, and with whose 
quarrels and struggles for power our next tales will 
be concerned. 



HO W THE TAIRA AND THE MINA- 
MO TO FO UGHT FOR PO WER. 

In the struggle of the great families of Japan for 
precedence, the lords of the Fujiwara held the civil 
power of the realm, while the shoguns, or generals, 
were chosen from the Taira and Minamoto clans. 
Bred to arms, leading the armies of the empire in 
many a hard-fought war, making the camp their 
home, and loving best the trumpet-blast of battle, 
they became hardy and daring warriors, the military 
caste of Japan. While war continued, the shoguns 
were content to let the Fujiwara lord it at court, 
themselves preferring the active labors of the field. 
Only when peace prevailed, and there were no ene- 
mies to conquer nor rebels to subdue, did these war- 
riors begin to long for the spoils of place and to envy 
the Fujiwara their power. 

Chief among those thus moved by ambition was 
Kiyomori, the greatest of the Taira leaders. As a 
boy he possessed a strong frame and showed a proud 
spirit, wearing unusually high clogs, which in Japan 
indicates a disposition to put on lordly airs. His 
position as the son of a soldier soon gave him an 
opportunity to show his mettle. The seas then 
swarmed with pirates, who had become the scourge 
alike of Corea and of Japan and were making havoc 
among the mercantile fleets. The ambitious boy, 

41 



42 HISTORICAL TALES. 

full of warlike spirit, demanded, when but eighteen 
years of age, to be sent against these ocean pests, 
and cruised against them in the Suwo Nada, a part 
of the Inland Sea. Here he met and fought a ship- 
load of the most desperate of the buccaneers, cap- 
turing their vessel, and then attacking them in their 
place of refuge, which he destroyed. 

For years afterwards Kiyomori showed the 
greatest valor by land and sea, and in 1153, being 
then thirty-six years of age, he succeeded his father 
as minister of justice for Japan. Up to this time 
the families of the Taira and the Minamoto had been 
friendly rivals in the field. ISTow their friendship 
came to an end and was succeeded by bitter enmity. 
In 1156 there were rival claimants for the throne, 
one supported by each of these great families. The 
Taira party succeeded, got possession of the palace, 
and controlled the emperor whom they had raised to 
the throne. 

Kiyomori soon attained the highest power in the 
realm, and in him the military caste first rose to 
pre-eminence. The Fujiwara were deposed, all the 
high offices at court were filled by his relatives, and 
he made himself the military chief of the empire 
and the holder of the civil authority, the mikado 
being but a creature of his will. 

History at this point gives us a glimpse of a 
curious state of affairs. Go-Shirawaka, the emperor 
whom Kiyomori had raised to the throne in 1156, 
abdicated in 1159, shaved off his hair, and became a 
Buddhist monk, professing to retire from the world 
within the holy cloisters of a monastery. But 



HOW THE TAIRA AND MINAMOTO FOUGHT. 43 

nothing was farther from his thoughts. He was a 
man of immoral desires, and found his post on the 
throne a check to the debaucheries in which he 
wished to indulge. As a monk he exercised more 
power than he had done as a mikado, retaining the 
control of affairs during the reigns of his son and his 
two grandsons. The ranks and titles of the empire 
were granted by him with a lavish hand, and their 
disposition was controlled by Kiyomori, his powerful 
confederate, who, in addition to raising his relatives 
to power, held himself several of the highest offices 
in the realm. 

The power of the Taira family increased until sixty 
men of the clan held important posts at court, while 
their lands spread over thirty provinces. They had 
splendid palaces in Kioto, the capital, and in Fuku- 
wara, overlooking the Inland Sea. The two sons of 
Kiyomori were made generals of high rank, and his 
daughter became wife of the emperor Takakura, a 
boy eleven years of age. The Taira chief was now at 
the summit of power, and his foes in the depths of 
distress. The Fujiwara, who had no military power, 
were unable to contend with him, and his most 
dangerous rivals, the Minamoto, were slain or driven 
into exile. Yoshitomo, the head of the house, was 
assassinated by a traitor bribed by Kiyomori, his 
oldest son was beheaded, and the others — whom he 
thought to be the last of the Minamoto — were either 
banished or immured in monasteries. All the reins 
of power seemed to be in the regent's grasp. 

The story is here diversified by a legend well 
worth repeating. One of the Minamoto, Tametomo 



44 HISTORICAL TALES. 

by name, was an archer of marvellous powers. His 
strength was equal to that of fifty ordinary men, 
and such was the power of his right arm, which 
was shorter than his left, that he could draw a bow 
which four common archers could not bend, and let 
fly a shaft five feet long, with an enormous bolt as 
its head. This Japanese Hercules was banished from 
the court at the instigation of the Taira, the muscles 
of his arm were cut, and he was sent in a cage to 
Idzu. 

Escaping from his guards, he fled to one of the 
smaller islands, and remained in concealment until 
his arm had healed. Here the great archer became 
governor of the people, and forbade them to pay 
tribute to the throne. A fleet of boats was de- 
spatched against him, but, standing on the strand, 
he sent an arrow hurtling through the timbers of 
the nearest vessel and sunk it beneath the waves. 
Then, shouting defiance to his foes, he shut himself 
up in his house, set fire to it, and perished in the 
flames. But another legend relates that he fled to 
the Loochoo Islands, where he became ruler and 
founder of their dynasty of kings. On the Japanese 
greenback notes is a picture of this mighty archer, 
who is shown grasping his bow after sinking the ship. 

It was the purpose of Kiyomori to exterminate 
the family of his foes. In two instances he was in- 
duced to let sons of that family live, a leniency for 
which the Taira were to pay bitterly in the end. 
The story of both these boys is full of romance. 
We give one of them here, reserving the other for 
a succeeding tale. Yoritomo, the third son of Yoshi- 



HOW THE TAIRA AND MINAMOTO FOUGHT. 45 

tomo, was twelve years of age at the date of his 
father's defeat and death. During the retreat the 
boy was separated from his companions, and fell 
into the hands of an officer of the opposite party, 
who took him as prisoner to Kioto, the capital. 
Here the regent sentenced him to death, and the day 
for his execution was fixed. Only the tender heart 
of a woman saved the life of one who was destined 
to become the avenger of his father and friends. 

" Would you like to live?" the boy's captor asked 
him. 

"Yes," he replied; "my father and mother are 
both dead, and who but I can pray for their happi- 
ness in the world to come ?" 

The feelings of the officer were touched by this 
reply, and, hoping to save the boy, he told the 
story to the step-mother of Kiyomori, who was a 
Buddhist nun. The filial piety of the child affected 
her, and she was deeply moved when the officer said, 
" Yoritomo is much like Prince Uma." 

Uma had been her favorite son, one loved and lost, 
and, her mother's heart stirred to its depths, she 
sought Kiyomori and begged him to spare the boy's 
life. He was obdurate at first, worldly wisdom bid- 
ding him to remove the last scion of his foes, but in 
the end he yielded to his mother's prayer and con- 
sented to spare the child, condemning him, how- 
ever, to distant exile. This softness of heart he was 
bitterly to regret. 

Yoritomo was banished to the province of Idzu, 
where he was kept under close guard by two officers 
of the Taira. He was advised by a friend to shave 



46 HISTORICAL TALES. 

off his hair and become a monk, but a faithful ser- 
vant who attended him counselled him to keep his 
hair and await with a brave heart what the future 
might bring forth. The boy was shrewd and pos- 
sessed of high self-control. None of the remaining 
followers of his father dared communicate with him, 
and enemies surrounded him, yet he restrained all 
display of feeling, was patient under provocation, 
capable of great endurance, and so winning in man- 
ner that he gained the esteem even of the enemies 
of his family. 

The story of Yoritomo's courtship and marriage 
is one of much interest. Hojo Tokimasa, a noble 
with royal blood in his veins, had two daughters, the 
elder being of noted beauty, the younger lacking in 
personal charms. The exiled youth, who wished to 
ally himself to this powerful house and was anxious 
to win the mother's favor in his suit, was prudent 
enough to choose the homely girl. He sent her a let- 
ter, asking her hand in marriage, by his servant, but 
the latter, who had ideas of his own and preferred 
the beauty for his master's wife, destroyed the letter 
and wrote another to Masago, the elder daughter. 

That night the homely sister had a dream. A 
pigeon seemed to fly to her with a box of gold in its 
beak. She told her vision to her sister, whom it 
deeply interested, as seeming to be a token of some 
good fortune coming. 

" I will buy your dream," she said. " Sell it to me, 
and I will give you my toilet mirror in exchange. 
The price I pay is little," she repeated, using a com- 
mon Japanese phrase. 



HOW THE TAIRA AND MINAMOTO FOUGHT. 47 

The homely sister willingly made the exchange, 
doubtless preferring a mirror to a dream. But she 
had hardly done so when the messenger arrived with 
the letter he had prepared. Masago gladly accepted, 
already being well inclined towards the handsome 
youth, but her father had meanwhile promised her 
hand to another suitor, and refused to break his 
word. The marriage was solemnized. But an un- 
derstanding had been reached between the lovers, 
and early on the wedding-night Masago eloped with 
the waiting youth. In vain the husband sought for 
the fleeing pair. The father, seemingly angry, aided 
him in his search, though really glad at the lovers' 
flight. He much preferred Yoritomo, though he had 
been bound by his word, and in later years he be- 
came one of his ablest partisans. Masago rose to 
fame in Japanese history, aided in the subsequent 
triumph of her spouse, and did much to add to the 
splendor and dignity of his court. 

During this period Kiyomori was making ene- 
mies, and in time became so insolent and overbear- 
ing that a conspiracy was formed for his overthrow. 
At the head of this was one of the royal princes, 
who engaged Yoritomo in the plot. The young ex- 
ile sent out agents right and left to rouse the dis- 
contented. Many were won over, but one of them 
laughed the scheme to scorn, saying, " For an exile 
to plot against the Taira is like a mouse plotting 
against a cat." 

But a conspiracy cannot be killed by a laugh. 
Yoritomo was soon in the field at the head of a body 
of followers. A fierce fight took place in the moun- 



48 HISTORICAL TALES. 

tains, in which the young rebel fought bravely, but 
was defeated and forced to flee for his life. Pursuit 
was sharp, and he escaped only by hiding in a hollow 
log. He afterwards reached a temple and concealed 
himself in the priests' wardrobe. At length he suc- 
ceeded in crossing the Bay of Yedo to Awa, on its 
northern side. Here he found friends, sent out 
agents, and was not long in gathering a new army 
from the old friends of the Minamoto and those who 
hated the tyrant. In a few months he was at the 
head of a large and well-drilled force, with many 
noted generals in command. The country was fer- 
tile and food abundant, and day by day the army 
became larger. 

But the Taira were not idle. Kiyomori quickly 
gathered a large army, which he sent to put down 
the rebellion, and the hostile forces came face to 
face on opposite sides of the Fuji Eiver, the swiftest 
stream in Japan. Between them rolled the impetuous 
flood, which neither party dared to cross in the face 
of the foe, the most they could do being to glare at 
one another across the stream. 

The story goes that one of the Taira men, knowing 
that the turn of the tide would favor their enemies, 
went to the river flats at night and stirred up the 
flocks of wild fowl that rested there. What he hoped 
to gain by this is not very clear, but it told against 
his own side, for the noise of the flocks was thought 
by the Taira force to be due to a night attack from 
their foes, and they fled in a sudden panic. 

After this bloodless victory Yoritomo returned to 
his chosen place of residence, named Kamakura, 



HOW THE TAIRA AND MINAMOTO FOUGHT. 49 

where he began to build a city that should rival the 
capital in size and importance. A host of builders 
and laborers was set at work, the dense thickets were 
cleared away, and a new town rapidly sprang up, 
with streets lined with dwellings and shops, store- 
houses of food, imposing temples, and lordly man- 
sions. The anvils rang merrily as the armorers forged 
weapons for the troops, merchants sought the new 
city with their goods, heavily laden boats flocked 
into its harbor, and almost as if by magic a great 
city, the destined capital of the shoguns, rose from 
the fields. 

The site of Kamakura had been well chosen. It 
lay in a valley facing the open sea, while in the rear 
rose a semicircle of precipitous hills. Through these 
roadways were cut, which might easily be defended 
against enemies, while offering free access to friends. 
The power of the Minamoto had suddenly grown 
again, and the Taira saw fronting them an active 
and vigorous foe where a year before all had seemed 
tranquil and the land their own. 

To the proud Kiyomori this was a bitter draught. 
He fell sick unto death, and the high officials of the 
empire gathered round his bed, in mortal fear lest he 
to whom they owed their power should be swept 
away. With his last breath the vindictive old chief 
uttered invectives against his foes. 

"My only regret is that I am dying," he said, 
" and have not yet seen the head of Toritomo of the 
Minamoto. After my decease do not make offerings 
to Buddha on my account ; do not read the sacred 
books. Only cut off the head of Yoritomo of the 

4 



50 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Minamoto and hang it on my tomb. This is my sole 
command : see that it be faithfully performed." 

This order was not destined to be carried out. 
Yoritomo was to die peacefully, eleven years after- 
wards, in 1199, with his head safe on his shoulders. 
Yet his bedchamber was nightly guarded, lest traitors 
should take his life, while war broke out from end to 
end of the empire. Kiyomori's last words seemed to 
have lighted up its flames. Step by step the forces of 
Yoritomo advanced. Victory followed their banners, 
and the foe went down in death. At length Kioto, 
the capital of the mikado, was reached, and fell into 
their hands. The Taira fled with the young mikado 
and his wife, but his brother was proclaimed mikado 
in his stead, and all the treasures of the Taira fell 
into the victors' hands. 

Though the power of Yoritomo now seemed as- 
sured, he had a rebellion in his own ranks to meet. 
His cousin Yoshinaka, the leader of the conquering 
army, was so swollen with pride at his success that 
he forced the court to grant him the highest military 
title, imprisoned the old ex-mikado Go-Shirakawa, 
who had long been the power behind the throne, be- 
headed the Buddhist abbots who had opposed him, 
and acted with such rebellious insolence that Yori- 
tomo had to send an army against him. A battle 
took place, in which he was defeated and killed. 

Yoritomo was now supreme lord of Japan, the 
mikado, for whom he acted, being a mere tool in his 
hands. Yet one great conflict had still to be fought 
by the shogun's younger brother, whose romantic 
story we have next to tell. 



THE BAYARD OF JAPAN. 

Yoritomo was not the only son of the Minamoto 
chief whom the tyrant let live. There was another, 
a mere babe at the time, who became a hero of chiv- 
alry, and whose life has ever since been the beacon 
of honor and knightly virtue to the youth of Japan. 

When Yoshitomo fled from his foes after his defeat 
in 1159, there went with him a beautiful young peas- 
ant girl, named Tokiwa, whom he had deeply loved, 
and who had borne him three children, all boys. 
The chief was murdered by three assassins hired by 
his foe, and Tokiwa fled with her children, fearing 
lest they also should be slain. 

It was winter. Snow deeply covered the ground. 
Whither she should go or how she should live the 
poor mother knew not, but she kept on, clasping her 
babe to her breast, while her two little sons trudged 
by her side, the younger holding her hand, the older 
carrying his father's sword, which she had taken as 
the last relic of her love. In the end the fleeing 
woman, half frozen and in peril of starvation, was 
met by a soldier of the army of her foes. Her 
pitiable condition and the helplessness of her chil- 
dren moved him to compassion, and he gave her 
shelter and food. 

Her flight troubled Kiyomori, who had hoped to 
destroy the whole family of his foes, and had given 

51 



52 HISTORICAL TALES. 

strict orders for her capture or death. Not being 
able to discover her place of retreat, he conceived a 
plan which he felt sure would bring her within 
his power. In Japan and China alike affection for 
parents is held to be the highest duty of a child, the 
basal element of the ancient religion of both these 
lands. He therefore seized Tokiwa's mother, feeling 
sure that filial duty would bring her to Kioto to save 
her mother's life. 

Tokiwa heard that her mother was held as a host- 
age for her and threatened with death unless she, 
with her children, should come to her relief. The 
poor woman was in an agony of doubt. Did she 
owe the greatest duty to her mother, or to her chil- 
dren? Could she deliver up her babes to death? 
Yet could she abandon her mother, whom she had 
been taught as her first and highest duty to guard 
and revere? In this dilemma she conceived a plan. 
Her beauty was all she possessed ; but by its aid 
she might soften the hard heart of Kiyomori and 
save both her mother and her children. 

Success followed her devoted effort. Eeaching the 
capital, Tokiwa obtained an audience with the tyrant, 
who was so struck with her great beauty that he 
wished to make her his mistress. At first she refused, 
but her mother begged her with tears to consent, and 
she finally yielded on Kiyomori's promise that her 
children should be spared. This mercy did not please 
the friends of the tyrant, who insisted that the boys 
should be put to death, fearing to let any one live 
who bore the hated name of Minamoto. But the 
beauty of the mother and her tearful pleadings won 



THE BAYARD OF JAPAN. 53 

the tyrant's consent, and her sacrifice for her children 
was not in vain. 

The youngest of the three, the babe whom Tokiwa 
had borne in her arms in her flight, grew up to be 
a healthy, ruddy-cheeked boy, small of stature, but 
fiery and impetuous in spirit. Kiyomori had no in- 
tention, however, that these boys should be left at 
liberty to cause him trouble in the future. When of 
proper age he sent them to a monastery, ordering 
that they should be brought up as priests. 

The elder boys consented to this, suffering their 
black hair to be shaved off and the robes of Buddhist 
neophytes to be put on them. But Yoshitsune, the 
youngest, had no fancy for the life of a monk, and 
refused to let the razor come near his hair. Though 
dwelling in the monastery, he was so merry and self- 
willed that his pranks caused much scandal, and the 
pious bonzes knew not what to do with this young 
ox, as they called the irrepressible boy. 

As Yoshitsune grew older, his distaste at the dul- 
ness of his life in the cloister increased, The wars 
in the north, word of which penetrated even those 
holy walls, inspired his ambition, and he determined 
in some way to escape. The opportunity to do so soon 
arose. Traders from the outer world made their 
way within the monastery gates for purposes of busi- 
ness, and among these was an iron-merchant, who 
was used to making frequent journeys to the north 
of the island of Hondo to obtain the fine iron of 
the celebrated mines of that region. The youth 
begged this iron-merchant to take him on one of his 
journeys, a request which he at first refused, through 



54 HISTORICAL TALES. 

fear of offending the priests. But Yoshitsune in- 
sisted, saying that they would be glad enough to be 
rid of him, and the trader at length consented. Yo- 
shitsune was right : the priests were very well satis- 
fied to learn that he had taken himself off. 

On the journey the youthful noble gave proofs of 
remarkable valor and strength. He seized and held 
prisoner a bold robber, and on another occasion 
helped to defend the house of a man of wealth from 
an attack by robbers, five of whom he killed. These 
and other exploits alarmed a friend who was with 
him, and who bade him to be careful lest the Taira 
should hear of his doings, learn who he was, and kill 
him. 

The boy at length found a home with the prince 
of Mutsu, a nobleman of the Fujiwara clan. Here 
he spent his days in military exercises and the 
chase, and by the time he was twenty-one had 
gained a reputation as a soldier of great valor and 
consummate skill, and as a warrior in whom the true 
spirit of chivalry seemed inborn. A youth of such 
honor, virtue, courage, and martial fire Japan had 
rarely known. 

\In the war that soon arose between Yoritomo and 
the Taira the youthful Bayard served bis brother 
well. Kiyomori, in sparing the sons of the Mina- 
moto chief, had left alive the two ablest of all who bore 
that name. So great were the skill and valor of the 
young warrior that his brother, on the rebellion of 
Yoshinaka, made Yoshitsune commander of the army 
of the west, and sent him against the rebellious gen- 
eral, who was quickly defeated and slain. 



THE BAYARD OF JAPAN. 55 

But the Taira, though they had been driven from 
the capital, had still many adherents in the land, and 
were earnestly endeavoring to raise an army in the 
south and west. Unfortunately for them, they had 
a leader to deal with who knew the value of celerity. 
Yoshitsune laid siege to the fortified palace of Fuku- 
wara, within which the Taira leaders lay intrenched, 
and pushed the siege with such energy that in a 
short time the palace was taken and in flames. 
Those who escaped fled to the castle of Tashima, 
which their active enemy also besieged and burned. 
As a last refuge the Taira leaders made their way to 
the Straits of Shimonoseki, where they had a large 
fleet of junks. 

The final struggle in this war took place in the 
fourth month of the year 1185. Yoshitsune had with 
all haste got together a fleet, and the two armies, now 
afloat, met on the waters of the strait for the greatest 
naval battle that Japan had ever known. The Taira 
fleet consisted of five hundred vessels, which held 
not only the fighting men, but their mothers, wives, 
and children, among them the dethroned mikado, 
a child six years of age. The Minamoto fleet was 
composed of seven hundred junks, containing none 
but men. 

In the battle that followed, the young leader of the 
Minamoto showed the highest intrepidity. The fight 
began with a fierce onset from the Taira, which drove 
back their foe. With voice and example Yoshitsune 
encouraged his men. For an interval the combat 
lulled. Then Wada, a noted archer, shot an arrow 
which struck the junk of a Taira chief. 



56 HISTORICAL TALES. 

" Shoot it back !" cried the chief. 

An archer plucked it from the wood, fitted it to 
his bow, and let fly at the Minamoto fleet. The 
shaft grazed the helmet of one warrior and pierced 
the breast of another. 

" Shoot it back !" cried Yoshitsune. 

"It is short and weak," said Wada, plucking it 
from the dead man's breast. Taking a longer shaft 
from his quiver, he shot it with such force and sure- 
ness of aim that it passed through the armor and 
flesh of the Taira bowman and fell into the sea 
beyond. Yoshitsune emptied his quiver with similar 
skill, each arrow finding a victim, and soon the tide 
of battle turned. 

Treason aided the Minamoto in their victory. In 
the vessel containing the son, widow, and daughter 
of Kiyomori, and the young mikado, was a friend of 
Yoshitsune, who had agreed upon a signal by which 
this junk could be known. In the height of the 
struggle the signal appeared. Yoshitsune at once 
ordered a number of captains to follow with their 
boats, and bore down on this central vessel of the 
Taira fleet. 

Soon the devoted vessel was surrounded by hostile 
junks, and armed men leaped in numbers on its 
deck. A Taira man sprang upon Yoshitsune, sword 
in hand, but he saved his life by leaping to another 
junk, while his assailant plunged to death in the 
encrimsoned waves. Down went the Taira nobles 
before the swords of their assailants. The widow 
of Kivomori, determined not to be taken alive, seized 
the youthful mikado and leaped into the sea. Mune- 



THE BAYARD OF JAPAN. 57 

mori, Kiyomori's son and the head of the Taira 
house, was taken, with many nobles and ladies of the 
court. 

Still the battle went on. Ship after ship of the 
Taira fleet, their sides crushed by the prows of their 
opponents, sunk beneath the reddened waters. Others 
were boarded and swept clear of defenders by the 
sword. Hundreds perished, women and children as 
well as men. Hundreds more were taken captive. 
The waters of the sea, that morning clear and 
sparkling, were now the color of blood, and the 
pride of the Taira clan lay buried beneath the 
waves or were cast up by the unquiet waters upon 
the strand. With that fatal day the Taira vanished 
from the sight of men,. 

Yoritomo gave the cruel order that no male of 
that hated family should be left alive, and armed 
murderers sought them out over hill and vale, slaying 
remorselessly all that could be traced. In Kioto 
many boy children of the clan were found, all of 
whom were slain. A few of the Taira name escaped 
from the fleet and fled to Kiushiu, where they hid 
in the lurking-places of the mountains. There, in 
poverty and pride, their descendants still survive, 
having remained unknown in the depths of their 
covert until about a century ago. 

The story of Yoshitsune, which began in such 
glory, ends in treachery and ingratitude. Yoritomo 
envied the brother to whose valor his power was 
largely due. Hatred replaced the love which should 
have filled his heart, and he was ready to believe 
any calumny against the noble young soldier. 



58 HISTORICAL TALES. 

One Kajiwara, a military adviser in the army, 
grew incensed at Yoshitsune for acting against 
his advice, and hastened to Yoritomo with lies and 
slanders. The shogun, too ready to believe these 
stories, forbade Yoshitsune to enter the city on his 
return with the spoils of victory. The youthful 
victor wrote him a touching letter, which is still 
extant, recounting his toils and dangers, and appeal- 
ing for justice and the clearance from suspicion of 
his fair fame. 

Weary of waiting, he went to Kioto, where he 
found himself pursued by assassins. He escaped into 
Yamato, but was again pursued. Once more he es- 
caped and concealed himself, but spies traced him 
out and the son of his host tried to murder him. 

What finally became of the hero is not known. 
The popular belief is that he killed himself with his 
own hand, after slaying his wife and children. Some 
believe that he escaped to Yezo, where for years he 
dwelt among the Ainos, who to-day worship his 
spirit and have erected a shrine over what they 
claim to be his grave. The preposterous story is 
even advanced that he fled to Asia and became the 
great Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan. 

Whatever became of him, his name is immortal in 
Japan. Every Japanese youth looks upon the youth- 
ful martyr as the ideal hero of his race, his form 
and deeds are glorified in art and song, and while a 
martial thought survives in Japan the name of this 
Bayard of the island empire will be revered. 



THE HOJO TYRANNY. 

Under the rule of Toritomo Japan had two capi- 
tals and two governments, the mikado ruling at 
Kioto, the shogun at Kamakura, the magnificent 
city which Toritomo had founded. The great family 
of the Minamoto was now supreme, all its rivals 
being destroyed. A special tax for the support of 
the troops yielded a large revenue to the shoguns ; 
courts were established at Kamakura ; the priests, 
who had made much trouble, were disarmed; a 
powerful permanent army was established ; a mili- 
tary chief was placed in each province beside the 
civil governor, and that military government was 
founded which for nearly seven centuries robbed the 
mikado of all but the semblance of power. Thus it 
came that the shogun, or the tycoon as he after- 
wards named himself, appeared to be the emperor of 
Japan. 

We have told how Yoritomo, once a poor exile, 
became the lord of the empire. After conquering 
all his enemies he visited Kioto, where he astonished 
the court of the mikado by the splendor of his 
retinue and the magnificence of his military shows, 
athletic games, and ceremonial banquets. The two 
rulers exchanged the costliest presents, the emperor 
conferred all authority upon the general, and when 
Yoritomo returned to his capital city he held in his 

59 



60 HISTORICAL TALES. 

control the ruling power of the realm. All generals 
were called shoguns, but he was the shogun, his title 
being Sei-i Tai Shogun (Barbarian-subjugating Great 
General). Though really a vassal of the emperor, 
he wielded the power of the emperor himself, and 
from 1192 until 1868 the mikados were insignificant 
puppets and the shoguns the real lords of the land. 
Such was the strange progress of political evolution 
in Japan. The mikado was still emperor, but the 
holders of this title lay buried in sloth or religious 
fanaticism and let their subordinates rule. 

And now we have another story to tell concern- 
ing this strange political evolution. As the shoguns 
became paramount over the mikados, so did the 
Hojo, the regents of the shoguns, become paramount 
over them, and for nearly one hundred and fifty 
years these vassals of a vassal were the virtual em- 
perors of Japan. This condition of affairs gives a 
curious complication to the history of that country. 

In a previous tale it has been said that the father 
of Masago, the beautiful wife of the exiled prince, was 
named Hojo Tokimasa. He was a man of ability and 
was much esteemed and trusted by his son-in-law. 
After the death of Yoritomo and the accession of 
his son, Tokimasa became chief of the council of 
state, and brought up the young shogun in idleness 
and dissipation, wielding the power in his name. 
When the boy reached manhood and began to show 
ambition to rule, Tokimasa had him exiled to a 
temple and soon after assassinated. His brother, 
then twelve years old, succeeded as shogun. He 
cared nothing for power, but much for enjoyment, 



THE HO JO TYRANNY. 61 

and the Hojo let him live his life of pleasure while 
they held the control of affairs. In the end he was 
murdered by the son of the slain shogun, who was 
in his turn killed by a soldier, and thus the family 
of Yoritomo became extinct. 

From that time forward the Hojo continued pre- 
eminent. They were able men, and governed the 
country well. The shoguns were chosen by them 
from the Minamoto clan, boys being selected, some 
of them but two or three years old, who were de- 
posed as soon as they showed a desire to rule. The 
same was the case with the mikados, who were also 
creatures of the Hojo clan. One of them who had 
been deposed raised an army and fought for his 
throne. He was defeated and exiled to a distant 
monastery. Others were deposed, and neither mi- 
kados nor shoguns were permitted to reign except 
as puppets in the hands of the powerful regents of 
the realm. 

None of the Hojo ever claimed the office of 
shogun. They were content to serve as the power 
behind the throne. As time went on. the usual 
result of such a state of affairs showed itself. The 
able men of the Hojo family were followed by weak 
and vicious ones. Their tyranny and misgovern- 
ment grew unbearable. They gave themselves up to 
luxury and debauchery, oppressed the people by 
taxes to obtain means for their costly pleasures, 
and crushed beneath their oppressive rule the em- 
peror, the shogun, and the people alike. Their cup 
of vice and tyranny at length overflowed. The day 
of retribution was at hand. 



62 HISTORICAL TALES. 

The son of the mikado Go-Daigo was the first to 
rebel. His plans were discovered by spies, and his 
father ordered him to retire to a monastery, in 
which, however, he continued to plot revenge. Go- 
Daigo himself next struck for the power of which 
he possessed but the name. Securing the aid of 
the Buddhist priests, he fortified Kasagi, a strong- 
hold in Yamato. He failed in his effort. In the 
following year (1331) an army attacked and took 
Kasagi, and the emperor was taken prisoner and 
banished to Oki. 

Connected with his exile is a story of much 
dramatic interest. While Go-Daigo was being borne 
in a palanquin to his place of banishment, under 
a guard of soldiers, Kojima, a young noble of his 
party, attempted his rescue. Gathering a party of 
followers, he occupied a pass in the hills through 
which he expected that the train would make its 
way. But another pass was taken, and he waited in 
vain. 

Learning their mistake, his followers, disheartened 
by their failure, deserted him. But the faithful vassal 
cautiously followed the train, making various efforts 
to approach and whisper hope to the imperial exile. 
He was prevented by the vigilance of the guard, and 
finally, finding that either rescue or speech was hope- 
less, he hit upon a plan to baffle the vigilance of the 
guards and let the emperor know that friends were 
still at work in his behalf. 

Under the shadows of night he secretly entered 
the garden of the inn where the party was resting, 
and there scraped off the outer bark of a cherry- 




SSSoS 



LETTER-WRITING IN JAPAN. 



THE HOJO TYRANNY. 63 

tree, laying bare the smooth white layer within. 
On this he wrote the following stanza : 

11 O Heaven, destroy not Kosen 
While Hanrei still lives. " 

The next morning the soldiers noticed the writing 
on the tree. Curious to learn its meaning, but un- 
able to read, they showed it to their prisoner, who, 
being familiar with the quotation, caught, with an 
impulse of joy, its concealed significance. Kosen 
was an ancient king of China who had been deposed 
and made prisoner, but was afterwards restored to 
power by his faithful follower Hanrei. Glad to learn 
that loyal friends were seeking his release, the em- 
peror went to his lonely exile with renewed hope. 
Kojima afterwards died on the battle-field during the 
war for the restoration of the exiled mikado. 

But another valiant soldier was soon in the field 
in the interest of the exile. Nitta Yoshisada, a cap- 
tain of the Hojo forces, had been sent to besiege 
Kusunoki, a vassal of the mikado, who held a strong- 
hold for his imperial lord. Nitta, roused by con- 
science to a sense of his true duty, refused to fight 
against the emperor, deserted from the army, and, 
obtaining a commission from Go-Daigo's son, who 
was concealed in the mountains, he returned to his 
native place, raised the standard of revolt against 
the Hojo, and soon found himself at the head of a 
considerable force. 

In thirteen days after raising the banner of revolt 
in favor of the mikado he reached the vicinity of 
Kamakura, acting under the advice of his brother, 



64 HISTORICAL TALES. 

who counselled him to beard the lion in his den. 
The tyranny of the Hojo had spread far and wide 
the spirit of rebellion, and thousands flocked to the 
standard of the young general, — a long white pen- 
nant, near whose top were two bars of black, and 
under them a circle bisected with a zone of black. 

On the eve of the day fixed for the attack on the 
city, Nitta stood on the sea-shore in front of his 
army, before him the ocean with blue islands visible 
afar, behind him lofty mountain peaks, chief among 
them the lordly Fusiyama. Here, removing his 
helmet, he uttered the following words : 

" Our heavenly son [the mikado] has been deposed 
by his traitorous subject, and is now an exile afar in 
the west. I have not been able to look on this act 
unmoved, and have come to punish the traitors in 
yonder city by the aid of these loyal troops. I 
humbly pray you, O god of the ocean waves, to 
look into the purposes of my heart. If you favor 
me and my cause, then bid the tide to ebb and open 
a path beside the sea." 

With these words he drew his sword and cast it 
with all his strength into the water. For a moment 
the golden hilt gleamed in the rays of the setting 
sun, and then the blade sank from sight. But with 
the dawn of the next day the soldiers saw with 
delight that there had been a great ebb in the tide, 
and that the dry strand offered a wide high-road 
past the rocky girdle that enclosed Kamakura. With 
triumphant shouts they marched along this ocean 
path, following a leader whom they now believed to 
be the chosen avenger of the gods. 



THE HOJO TYRANNY. 65 

From two other sides the city of the shogun was 
attacked. The defence was as fierce as the assault, 
but everywhere vietory rested upon the white banner 
of loyalty. Nitta's army pressed resistlessly forward, 
and the Hojo found themselves defeated and their 
army destroyed. Fire completed what the sword 
had begun, destructive flames attacked the frame 
dwellings of the city, and in a few hours the great 
capital of the shoguns and their powerful regents 
was a waste of ashes. 

Many of the vassals of the Hojo killed themselves 
rather than surrender, among them a noble named 
Ando, whose niece was Nitta's wife. She wrote him 
a letter begging him to surrender. 

" My niece is the daughter of a samurai house," 
the old man indignantly exclaimed. "How can she 
make so shameless a request ? And why did Nitta, 
who is himself a samurai, permit her to do so ?" 
"Wrapping the letter around his sword, he plunged 
the blade into his body and fell dead. 

"While Nitta was winning this signal victory, 
others were in arms for the mikado elsewhere, and 
everywhere the Hojo power went down. The 
people in all sections of the empire rose against the 
agents of the tyrants and put them to death, many 
thousands of the Hojo clan being slain and their 
power utterly destroyed. They had ruled Japan 
from the death of Toritomo, in 1199, to 1333. They 
have since been execrated in Japan, the feeling of 
the people being displayed in their naming one of the 
destructive insects of the island the Hojo bug. Yet 
among the Hojo were many able rulers, and under 

5 



66 HISTORICAL TALES. 

them the empire was kept in peace and order for 
over a century, while art and literature flourished 
and many of the noblest monuments of Japanese 
architecture arose. 

Go-Daigo was now recalled from exile and re- 
placed on the imperial throne. For the first time 
for centuries the mikado had come to his own and 
held the power of the empire in his hands. With 
judgment and discretion he might have restored the 
old government of Japan. 

But he lacked those important qualities, and 
quickly lost the power he had won. After a passing 
gleam of its old splendor the mikadoate sank into 
eclipse again. 

Go-Daigo was ruined by listening to a flatterer, 
whom he raised to the highest power, while he 
rewarded those who had rescued him with unim- 
portant domains. A fierce war followed, in which 
Ashikaga, the flatterer, was the victor, defeating and 
destroying his foes. Go-Daigo had pronounced him 
a rebel. In return he was himself deposed, and a 
new emperor, whom the usurper could control, was 
raised to the vacant throne. For three years only 
had the mikado remained supreme. Then for a long 
period the Ashikagas held the reins of power, and a 
tyranny like that of the Hojo existed in the land. 



THE TARTAR INVASION OF 
JAPAN. 

In all its history only one serious effort has been 
made to conquer the empire of Japan. It ended in 
such dire disaster to the invaders that no nation has 
ever repeated it. During the thirteenth century 
Asia was thrown into turmoil by the dreadful out- 
break of the Mongol Tartars under the great con- 
queror Genghis Khan. Nearly all Asia was over- 
run, Eussia was subdued, China was conquered, and 
envoys were sent to Japan demanding tribute and 
homage to the great khan. 

Six times the demand was made, and six times re- 
fused. Then an army of ten thousand men was sent 
to Japan, but was soon driven from the country in 
defeat. Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China, 
now sent nine envoys to the shogun, bidding them 
to stay until they received an answer to his demand. 
They stayed much longer than he intended, for the 
Hojo, who were then in power, cut off their heads. 
Once again the Chinese emperor sent to demand 
tribute, and once again the heads of the envoys were 
severed from their bodies. 

Acts like these could have only one result, and the 
Japanese made rapid preparations to meet the great 
power which had conquered Asia. A large army 
was levied, forts and defences were put in order, 

67 



68 HISTORICAL TALES. 

stores gathered in great quantities, and weapons and 
munitions of war abundantly prepared. A fleet of 
junks was built, and all the resources of the empire 
were employed. Japan, though it had waged no 
wars abroad, had amply learned the art of war from 
its frequent hostilities at home, and was well provided 
with brave soldiers and skilful generals. The khan 
was not likely to find its conquest an easy task. 

While the islanders were thus busy, their foes 
were as actively engaged. The proud emperor had 
made up his mind to crush this little realm that so 
insolently defied his power. A great fleet was made 
ready, containing thirty-five hundred vessels in all, 
in which embarked an army of one hundred thou- 
sand Chinese and Tartars and seven thousand Co- 
rean troops. It was the seventh month of the year 
1281 when the expectant sentinels of Japan caught 
the glint of the sun's rays on the far-off throng of 
sails, which whitened the seas as they came on with 
streaming banners and the warlike clang of brass 
and steel. 

The army of Japan, which lay encamped on the 
hills back of the fortified city of Daizaifu, in the 
island of Kiushiu, and gathered in ranks along the 
adjoining coast, gazed with curiosity and dread on 
this mighty fleet, far the largest they had ever seen. 
Many of the vessels were of enormous size, as it 
seemed to their unaccustomed eyes, and were armed 
with engines of war such as they had never before 
beheld. The light boats of the Japanese had little 
hope of success against these huge junks, and many 
of those that ventured from shelter were sunk by 



THE TARTAR INVASION OF JAPAN. 69 

the darts and stones flung from the Mongol catapults. 
The enemy could not be matched upon the sea; it 
remained to prevent him from setting foot upon 
shore. 

Yet the courage and daring of the island warriors 
could not be restrained. A party of thirty swam 
out and boarded a junk, where their keen-edged 
swords proved more than a match for the Tartar 
bows and spears, so that they returned with the 
heads of the crew. A second party tried to repeat 
a like adventure, but the Tartars were now on the 
alert and killed them all. One captain, with a 
picked crew, steered out in broad daylight to a 
Chinese junk, heedless of a shower of darts, one of 
which took off his arm. In a minute more he and 
his men were on the deck and were driving back the 
crew in a fierce hand-to-hand encounter. Before 
other vessels of the fleet could come up, they had 
fired the captured junk and were off again, bearing 
with them twenty-one heads of the foe. 

To prevent such attacks all advanced boats were 
withdrawn and the fleet was linked together with 
iron chains, while with catapults and great bows 
heavy darts and stones were showered on approach- 
ing Japanese boats, sinking many of them and de- 
stroying their crews. But all efforts of the Tartars 
to land were bravely repulsed, and such detachments 
as reached the shore were driven into the sea before 
they could prepare for defence, over two thousand 
of the enemy falling in these preliminary attempts. 
With the utmost haste a long line of fortifications, 
consisting of earthworks and palisades, had been 



70 HISTORICAL TALES. 

thrown up for miles along the shore, and behind 
these defences the island soldiers defied their foes. 

Among the defenders was a captain, Michiari by 
name, whose hatred of the Mongols led him to a 
deed of the most desperate daring. Springing over 
the breastworks, he defied the barbarians to mortal 
combat. Then, filling two boats with others as 
daring as himself, he pushed out to the fleet. 

Both sides looked on in amazement. " Is the man 
mad?" said the Japanese. "Are those two little 
boats coming to attack our whole fleet ?" asked the 
Mongols. " They must be deserters, who are coming 
to surrender." 

Under this supposition the boats were permitted 
to approach unharmed, their course being directed 
towards a large Tartar junk. A near approach be- 
ing thus made, grappling-irons were flung out, and 
in a minute more the daring assailants were leaping 
on board the junk. 

Taken by surprise, the Tartars were driven back, 
the two-handed keen-edged swords of the assailants 
making havoc in their ranks. The crew made what 
defence they could, but the sudden and unlooked-for 
assault had put them at disadvantage, and before the 
adjoining ships could come to their aid the junk was 
in flames and the boats of the victors had put off 
for land. With them as prisoner they carried one 
of the highest officers in the invading fleet. 

Yet these skirmishes did little in reducing the 
strength of the foe, and had not the elements come 
to the aid of Japan the issue of the affair might 
have been serious for the island empire. While the 



THE TARTAR INVASION OF JAPAN. 71 

soldiers were fighting the priests were praying, and 
the mikado sent a priestly messenger to the shrines 
at Ise, bearing his petition to the gods. It was noon- 
day, and the sky perfectly clear, when he offered the 
prayer, but immediately afterwards a broad streak 
of cloud rose on the horizon, and soon the sky was 
overcast with dense and rolling masses, portending a 
frightful storm. 

It was one of the typhoons that annually visit that 
coast and against whose appalling fury none but the 
strongest ships can stand. It fell with all its force 
on the Chinese fleet, lifting the junks like straws on 
the great waves which suddenly arose, tossing them 
together, hurling some upon the shore, and forcing 
others bodily beneath the sea. Hundreds of the light 
craft were sunk, and corpses were heaped on the 
shore in multitudes. Many of the vessels were 
driven to sea, few or none of which ever reached 
land. Many others were wrecked upon Taka Island. 
Here the survivors, after the storm subsided, began 
cutting down trees and building boats, in the hope 
of reaching Corea. But they were attacked by the 
Japanese with such fury that all were slain but 
three, whose lives were spared that they might bear 
back the news to their emperor and tell him how 
the gods had fought for Japan. 

The lesson was an effective one. The Chinese 
have never since attempted the conquest of Japan, 
and it is the boast of the people of that country 
that no invading army has ever set foot upon their 
shores. Six centuries afterwards the case was to be 
reversed and a Japanese army to land on Chinese soil. 



72 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Great praise was given to the Hojo then in control 
at Kamakura for his energy and valor in repelling the 
invaders. But the chief honor was paid to the gods 
enshrined at Ise, who were thenceforward adored as 
the guardians of the winds and the seas. To this 
day the invasion of the Mongols is vividly remem- 
bered in Kiushiu, and the mother there hushes her 
fretful babe with the question, " Little one, why do 
you cry? Do you think the Mogu are coming ?" 

It may be well here to say that the story of this 
invasion is told by Marco Polo, who was at the court 
of Kublai Khan, the Mongol conqueror of China, at 
the time it took place, and that his tale differs in 
many respects from that of the Japanese historians. 
Each party is apparently making the best of its side 
of the affair. 

According to Marco Polo's account, the failure of 
the expedition was due to jealousy between the tw^o 
officers in command. He states that one Japanese 
fortification was taken and all within put to the 
sword, except two, whose flesh was charmed against 
the sword and who could be killed only by being 
beaten to death with great clubs. As for those who 
reached Taka Island, they contrived by strategy to 
gain possession of the boats of the assailing Japanese, 
by whose aid, and that of the flags which the boats 
flew, they captured the chief city of Japan. Here for 
six months they were closely besieged, and finally 
surrendered on condition that their lives should be 
spared. 



NOB UNA G A AND THE FALL OF 
THE BUDDHISTS. 

For more than two centuries the Ashikaga lorded 
it over Japan, as the Hojo had done before them, and 
the mikados were tools in their strong hands. Then 
arose a man who overthrew this powerful clan. This 
man, Nobunaga by name, was a descendant of Kiyo- 
mori, the great leader of the Taira clan, his direct 
ancestor being one of the few who escaped from the 
great Minamoto massacre. 

The father of this Taira chief was a soldier whose 
valor had won him a large estate. Nobunaga added 
to it, built himself a strong castle, and became the 
friend and patron of the last of the Ashikaga, whom 
he made shogun. (The Ashikaga were descendants 
of the Minamoto, who alone had hereditary claim to 
this high office.) But ISTobunaga remained the power 
behind the throne, and, a quarrel arising between 
him and the shogun, he deposed the latter, and be- 
came himself the ruler of Japan. After two hundred 
and thirty-eight years of dominion the lordship of 
the Ashikaga thus came to an end. 

Of this great Japanese leader we are told, "He 
was a prince of large stature, but of weak and deli- 
cate complexion, with a heart and soul that supplied 
all other wants ; ambitious above all mankind ; brave, 
generous, and bold, and not without many excellent 

73 



74 HISTORICAL TALES. 

moral virtues ; inclined to justice, and an enemy to 
treason. With a quick and penetrating wit, he 
seemed cut out for business. Excelling in military 
discipline, he was esteemed the fittest to command 
an army, manage* a siege, fortify a town, or mark 
out a camp of any general in Japan, never using any 
head but his own. If he asked advice, it was more 
to know their hearts than to profit by their advice. 
He sought to see into others and to conceal his own 
counsel, being very secret in his designs. He laughed 
at the worship of the gods, being convinced that the 
bonzes were impostors abusing the simplicity of the 
people and screening their own debauches under the 
name of religion." 

Such was the man who by genius and strength of 
will now rose to the head of affairs. Not being 
of the Minamoto family, he did not seek to make 
himself shogun, and for forty years this office ceased 
to exist. He ruled in the name of the mikado, but 
held all the power of the realm. 

The good fortune of Nobunaga lay largely in his 
wise choice of men. Under him were four generals, 
so admirable yet so diverse in military ability that 
the people gave them the distinctive nicknames of 
" Cotton," " Eice," " Attack," and " Ketreat." Cotton, 
which can be put to a multitude of uses, indicated 
the fertility in resources of the first; while the second 
made himself as necessary as rice, which people can- 
not live a day without. The strength of the third 
lay in the boldness of his attacks ; of the fourth, in 
the skill of his retreats. Of these four, the first, 
named Hideyoshi, rose to great fame. A fifth was 



NOBUNAGA AND THE FALL OF THE BUDDHISTS. 75 

afterwards added, Tokugawa Iyeyasu, also a famous 
name in Japan. 

It was through his dealings with the Buddhists 
that Nobunaga made himself best known in history. 
He had lived among them in his early years, and 
had learned to hate and despise them. Having been 
educated in the Shinto faith, the ancient religion of 
Japan, he looked on the priests of Buddhism as 
enemies to the true faith. The destruction of these 
powerful sectaries was, therefore, one of the great 
purposes of his life. 

Nobunaga had other reasons than these for de- 
stroying the power of the bonzes. During the long 
period of the Ashikagas these cunning ecclesiastics 
had risen to great power. Their monasteries had 
become fortresses, with moats and strong stone walls. 
Internally these were like arsenals, and an army 
could readily be equipped from them with weapons, 
while many of the priests were daring leaders. 
During the civil wars they served the side that 
promised them the most spoil or power. Eivals 
among them often fought battles of their own, in 
which hundreds were killed and towns and temples 
burned. So great were their authority, their inso- 
lence, and their licentiousness that their existence had 
become an evil in the land, and Nobunaga determined 
to teach them a lesson they would not soon forget. 

Of the monasteries, the most extensive was that 
of Hiyeizan, on Lake Biwa. Within its territory 
lay thirteen valleys and more than five hundred 
temples, shrines, and dwellings, the grounds of which 
were adorned in the highest style of landscape art. 



76 HISTORICAL TALES. 

The monks here were numbered by thousands, with 
whom religious service was a gorgeous ceremonial 
mockery, and who revelled in luxury, feasted on 
forbidden viands, drank to inebriety, and indulged 
in every form of licentiousness. They used their 
influence in rousing the clans to war, from which 
they hoped to draw new spoils for their unrighteous 
enjoyments, while screening themselves from danger 
behind the cloak of the priesthood. 

It was against this monastery that the wrath of 
Nobunaga was most strongly aroused. Marching 
against it in 1571, he bade his generals set it on 
fire. The officers stood aghast at the order, which 
seemed to them likely to call down the vengeance of 
Heaven upon their heads. With earnest protests 
they begged him not to do so unholy an act. 

" Since this monastery was built, now nearly a 
thousand years ago," they said, " it has been vigilant 
against the power of the spirits of evil. ]STo one has 
dared in all that time to lift a hand against these 
holy buildings. Can you design to do so?" 

" Yes," answered Nobunaga, sternly. " I have put 
down the villains that distracted the country, and I 
intend to bring peace upon the land and restore the 
power of the mikado. The bonzes have opposed my 
efforts and aided my enemies. I sent them a mes- 
senger and gave them the chance to act with loyalty, 
but they failed to listen to my words, and resisted 
the army of the emperor, aiding the wicked robbers. 
Does not this make them thieves and villains ? If I 
let them now escape, this trouble will continue for- 
ever, and I have allowed them to remain on this 



NOBUNAGA AND THE FALL OF THE BUDDHISTS. 77 

mountain only that I might destroy them. That is 
not all. I have heard that these priests fail to keep 
their own rules. They eat fish and the strong-smell- 
ing vegetables which Buddha prohibited. They keep 
concubines, and do not even read the sacred books 
of their faith. How can such as these put down 
evil and preserve holiness? It is my command 
that you surround and burn their dwellings and see 
that none of them escape alive." 

Thus bidden, the generals obeyed. The grounds 
of the monastery were surrounded, and on the next 
day the temples and shrines were set on fire and the 
soldiers remorselessly cut down all they met. The 
scene of massacre and conflagration that ensued was 
awful to behold. None were spared, neither young 
nor old, man, woman, nor child. The sword and 
spear were wielded without mercy, and when the 
butchery ended not a soul of the multitude of in- 
mates was left alive. 

One more great centre of Buddhism remained to 
be dealt with, that of the monastery and temple of 
Houguanji, whose inmates had for years hated No- 
bunaga and sided with his foes, while they made 
their stronghold the hiding-place of his enemies. 
Finally, when some of his favorite captains had been 
killed by lurking foes, who fled from pursuit into 
the monastery, he determined to deal with this 
haunt of evil as he had dealt with Hiyeizan. 

But this place was not to be so easily taken. It 
was strongly fortified, and could be captured only by 
siege. Within the five fortresses of which it was 
composed were many thousands of priests and war- 



78 HISTORICAL TALES. 

riors, women and children, and a still more frightful 
massacre than that of Hiyeizan was threatened. 
The place was so closely surrounded that all escape 
seemed cut off, but under cover of the darkness of 
night and amid a fierce storm several thousand of 
the people made their way from one of the forts. 
They failed, however, in their attempt, being pur- 
sued, overtaken, and slaughtered. Soon after a 
junk laden with human ears and noses came close 
under the walls of the castle, that the inmates might 
learn the fate of their late friends. 

Vigorously the siege went on. A sortie of the 
garrison was repelled, but a number of Nobunaga's 
best officers were killed. After some two months 
of effort, three of the five fortresses were in the 
assailants' hands, and many thousands of the gar- 
rison had fallen or perished in the flames, the odor 
of decaying bodies threatening to spread pestilence 
through camp and castle alike. 

In this perilous condition of affairs the mikado 
sent a number of his high officials to persuade the 
garrison to yield. A conference was held and a sur- 
render agreed upon. The survivors were permitted 
to make their way to other monasteries of their 
sect, and Nobunaga occupied the castle, which is still 
held by the government. These two great blows 
brought the power of the bonzes, for that age, to an 
end. In later years some trouble was made by them, 
but ISTobunaga had done his work so thoroughly 
that there was little difficulty in keeping them under 
control. 

There remains only to tell the story of this great 



NOBUNAGA AND THE FALL OF THE BUDDHISTS. 79 

captain's end. He died at Kioto, the victim of trea- 
son. Among his captains was one named Akechi, a 
brave man, but proud. One day, in a moment of 
merriment, Nobunaga put the head of the captain 
under his arm and played on it with his fan, saying 
that he would make a drum of it. This pleasantry 
was not to the taste of the haughty captain, who 
nursed a desire for revenge, — behind which perhaps 
lay a wish to seize the power of the chief. 

The traitor did not have long to wait. Nobunaga 
had sent most of his forces away to quell a rebellion, 
keeping but a small garrison. With part of this 
Akechi was ordered to Kiushiu, and left the city 
with seeming intention to obey. But he had not 
gone far when he called his officers together, told 
them of his purpose to kill Nobunaga, and promised 
them rich booty for their assistance in the plot. The 
officers may have had reasons of their own for mu- 
tiny, for they readily consented, and marched back 
to the city they had just left. 

Nobunaga resided in the temple of Hounqji, ap- 
parently without a guard, and to his surprise heard 
the tread of many feet and the clash of armor with- 
out. Opening a window to learn what this por- 
tended, he was struck by an arrow fired from the 
outer darkness. He saw at once what had occurred, 
and that escape was impossible. There was but one 
way for a hero to die. Setting fire to the temple, he 
killed himself, and before many minutes the body of 
the great warrior was a charred corpse in the ashes 
of his funeral pile. 



HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME 
PREMIER. 

In the history of nations there have been many 
instances of a man descended from the lowest class 
of the populace reaching the highest rank. Kings, 
conquerors, emperors, have thus risen from the ranks 
of peasants and laborers, and the crown has been 
worn by men born to the beggar's lot. In the his- 
tory of Japan only one instance of this kind appears, 
that of one born a peasant who supplanted the noble 
families and became lord of the people and the 
emperor alike. Such a man was Hideyoshi, the one 
of Nobunaga's generals who bore the popular nick- 
name of " Cotton," from his fertility of resources 
and his varied utility to his chief. 

Born in 1536, the son of a peasant named Yasuke, 
as a baby he had almost the face of a monkey, while 
as a boy he displayed a monkey-like cunning, rest- 
lessness, and activity. The usual occupations of the 
sons of Japanese peasants, such as grass-cutting and 
rice-weeding, were not to the taste of young Mon- 
key-pine, as the villagers called him, and he spent 
his time in the streets, a keen-witted and reckless 
young truant, who feared and cared for no one, and 
lived by his wits. 

Fortune favored the little vagrant by bringing 
him under the eyes of the great soldier Nobunaga, 
80 



HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME PREMIER. 81 

who was attracted by his wizened, monkeyish face 
and restless eyes and gave him occupation among 
his grooms. As he grew older his love of war be- 
came pronounced, he took part in the numerous 
civil turmoils in which his patron was engaged, and 
manifested such courage and daring that Nobunaga 
rapidly advanced him in rank, finally making him 
one of his most trusted generals. No man was more 
admired in the army for soldierly qualities than the 
peasant leader, and the boldest warriors sought 
service under his banner, which at first bore for 
emblem a single gourd, but gained a new one after 
each battle, until it displayed a thick cluster of 
gourds. At the head of the army a golden model 
of the original banner was borne, and wherever it 
moved victory followed. 

Such was the man who, after the murder of Nobu- 
naga, marched in furious haste upon his assassin 
and quenched the ambition of the latter in death. 
The brief career of the murderer has given rise to a 
Japanese proverb, " Akechi ruled three days." The 
avenger of the slain regent was now at the head of 
affairs. The mikado himself dared not oppose him, 
for the military power of the empire lay within his 
grasp. There was only one man who ventured to 
resist his authority, and he for no long time. 

This was a general named Shibata, who took the 
field in defence of the claim of Nobutaka, a son of 
the slain regent. He did not realize with whom he 
had to deal. The peasant general was quickly in 
the field at the head of his veteran army, defeated 
Shibata at every encounter, and pursued him so hotly 

6 



82 HISTORICAL TALES. 

that he fled for refuge to a fortified place now known 
as Fukui. This stronghold Hideyoshi besieged, es- 
tablishing his camp on the slope of a neighboring 
mountain, from which he pushed his siege operations 
so vigorously that the fugitive gave up all hope of 
escape. 

In this dilemma Shibata took a resolution like 
that of the Epicurean monarch of Assyria, the famed 
Sardanapalus. He gave a grand feast in the palace, 
to which all the captains and notables of his party 
were invited, and at which all present danced and 
made merry as though victory hung over their ban- 
ners. Yet it was their funeral feast, to be followed 
by a carnival of death. 

In the midst of the banquet, Shibata, rising cup in 
hand, said to his wife, — 

" We are men, and will die. You are a woman, 
and have the right to live. You may gain safety by 
leaving the castle, and are at liberty to marry again." 

The brave woman, the sister of Xobunaga, was 
too high in spirit to accept this offer. Her eyes 
filled with tears, she thanked her lord for his kind- 
ness, but declared that the world held no other hus- 
band for her, and that it was her sole wish to die 
with him. Then, reciting a farewell stanza of poetry, 
she calmly stood while her husband thrust his dirk 
into her heart. 

All the women and children present, nerved by 
this brave example, welcomed the same fate, and 
then the men committed hara-kiri, the Japanese 
method of suicide, Shibata having first set fire to the 
castle. Soon the flames curled upward round the 



HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME PREMIER. 83 

dead and the dying, and the conqueror found nothing 
but the ashes of a funeral pile upon which to lay- 
hand. 

Hideyoshi, all resistance to his rule being now at 
an end, set himself to tranquillize and develop Japan. 
Iyeyasu, one of Nobunaga's favorite generals, became 
his friend and married his sister; Mori, lord of the 
West, came to the capital and became his vassal, and 
no man in the empire dared question his power. His 
enemies, proud nobles who were furious at having to 
bend their haughty heads before a peasant, privately 
called him Sava Kuan ja (" crowned monkey"), but 
were wise enough not to be too open in their satire. 
Their anger was especially aroused by the fact that 
the mikado had conferred upon this parvenu the lofty 
office of kuambaku, or prime minister of the empire, 
a title which had never before been borne by any 
one not a noble of the Fujiwara clan, for whom it 
had been expressly reserved. He was also ennobled 
under the family name of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 

The new premier showed as great an activity in 
the works of peace as he had shown in those of war, 
putting his soldiers to work to keep their minds em- 
ployed. Kioto was improved by his orders, splendid 
palaces being built, and the bed of the river Kamo 
paved with flat stones. Ozaka was greatly developed, 
an immense fortress being built, the river widened 
and deepened, and canals dug in great profusion, 
over which were thrown more than a thousand 
bridges. Various other cities were improved, great 
towers and pagodas built, and public works erected 
in many parts of the realm. In addition Hideyoshi 



84 HISTORICAL TALES. 

won popularity by his justice and mercy, pardoning 
his opponents, though the rule had hitherto been to 
put the adherents of opposite parties to death, and 
showing no regard for rank, title, or service to him- 
self in his official duty as judge. 

He had married a peasant girl while a peasant him- 
self, but as he rose in rank he espoused new wives of 
increasingly high station, his last being of princely 
descent. In the end he had as many wives as the 
much-married Henry VIII., but not in the same 
fashion, as he kept them all at once, instead of cutting 
off the head of one to make room for the next. 

Hideyoshi had one great ambition, born in him 
when a boy, and haunting him as a man. This was 
to conquer Corea, and perhaps China as well. He 
had begged Nobunaga to aid him in this great de- 
sign, but had only been laughed at for his pains. 
Now that he was at the head of affairs, this plan 
loomed up in large proportions in his mind. Corea 
had long ceased to pay tribute, and Corean pirates 
ravaged the coast. Here was an excuse for action. 
As for China, he knew that anarchy ruled there, and 
hoped to take advantage of this state of affairs. 

Patting the back of a statue of Yoritomo in a 
patronizing fashion, he humorously said, " You are 
my friend. You took all the power in Japan, a 
thing which only you and I have been able to do. 
But you came from a noble family, and were not, 
like me, the son of a peasant. I propose to outdo 
you, and conquer all the earth, and even China. 
What say you to that ?" 

To test the feeling of the gods about his proposed 



HOW A PEASANT BOY BECAME PREMIER. 85 

expedition, he threw into the air before a shrine a 
hundred "cash," or Japanese small coin, saying, to 
translate his words into the American vernacular, 
" If I am to conquer China, let these come up head." 

They all came up " head," or what in Japan an- 
swers to that word, and soldiers and ruler were alike 
delighted, for this omen seemed surely to promise 
success. 

Nearly fourteen hundred years had elapsed since 
the previous conquest of Corea by the famous empress 
Jingu. Now an army said to have been five hundred 
thousand strong was sent across the ocean channel 
between Kiushiu and the Corean coast. Hideyoshi 
was at this time sixty years of age and had grown 
infirm of body, so that he felt unable to command 
the expedition himself, which was therefore intrusted 
to two of his ablest leaders, Kato, of noble birth, 
and Konishi, the son of a druggist, who disgusted 
his proud associate by representing on his banner a 
paper medicine-bag, the sign of his father's shop. 

Notwithstanding the ill feeling between the lead- 
ers, the armies were everywhere victorious, Corea 
was overrun and the king driven from his capital, 
and the victors had entered into serious conflict with 
the armies of China, when word came from Japan 
(in 1598) that Hideyoshi was dead. A truce was at 
once concluded and the army ordered home. 

Thus ended the second invasion of Corea, the 
second of the events which gave rise to the claim in 
Japan that Corea is a vassal state of the island em- 
pire and were used as warrants to the nineteenth 
century invasion. 



THE FOUNDER OF YE DO AND 
OF MODERN FEUDALISM. 

The death of the peasant premier left Iyeyasu, 
the second in ability of Nobunaga's great generals, 
as the rising power in Japan. Hideyoshi, in the 
hope of preserving the rule in his own family, had 
married his son, a child of six, to Iyeyasu's grand- 
daughter, arid appointed six ministers to act as his 
guardians. He did not count, in cherishing this 
illusory hope, on the strength of human ambition. 
Nor did he give thought to the bitter disgust with 
which the haughty lords and nobles had yielded to 
the authority of one whom they regarded as an up- 
start. The chances of the child's coming to power 
were immeasurably small. 

In truth, the death of the strong-willed premier 
had thrown Japan open to anarchy. The leaders 
who had returned from the Corean war, flushed with 
victory, were ambitious for power, and the thou- 
sands of soldiers under their command were eager 
for war and spoils. Hidenobu, a nephew of Nobu- 
naga, claimed the succession to his uncle's position. 
The five military governors who had been appointed 
by the late premier were suspicious of Iyeyasu, and 
took steps to prevent him from seizing the vacated 
place. The elements of anarchy indeed were every- 
86 



FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM. 87 

where abroad, there was more than one aspirant to 
the ruling power, and armies began to be raised. 

Iyeyasu keenly watched the movements of his 
enemies. When he saw that troops were being re- 
cruited, he did the same. Crimination and recrimi- 
nation went on, skirmishes took place in the field, 
the citadel of Ozaka was successively taken and re- 
taken by the opposing parties, the splendid palace of 
Hideyoshi at Fushimi was given to the flames, and 
at length the two armies came together to settle in 
one great battle the fate of Japan. 

The army of the league against Iyeyasu had many 
leaders, including the five governors, most of the gen- 
erals of the Corean war, and the lords and vassals of 
Hideyoshi. Strong as it was, one hundred and eighty 
thousand in all, it was moved by contrary purposes, 
and unity of counsel was lacking among the chiefs. 
The army of Iyeyasu, while far weaker, had but one 
leader, and was inspired by a single purpose. 

On the 1st of October, 1600, the march began, 
over the great highway known as the Tokaido. 
The white banner of Iyeyasu was embroidered with 
hollyhocks, his standard a golden fan. " The road 
to the west is shut," prophesied the diviners. " Then 
I shall knock till it opens," the bold leader replied. 

As they marched onward, a persimmon (ogaki in 
Japanese) was offered him. He opened his hand to 
receive it, saying, as it fell into his palm, " Ogaki has 
fallen into my hand." (The significance of this re- 
mark lies in the fact that the camp of the league lay 
around the castle of Ogaki). 

Learning of the near approach of Iyeyasu's force, 



88 HISTORICAL TALES. 

the opposing army broke camp and marched to meet 
him through a sharp rain that wet them to the skin. 
Their chosen field of battle, Sekigahara (" plain of 
the barrier") by name, is in Omi, near Lake Biwa. 
It is an expanse of open, rolling ground, bisected by 
one of the main roads between Tokio and Kioto 
and crossed by a road from Echizen. On this spot 
was to be fought one of the greatest battles Japan 
had ever known, whose result was destined to settle 
the fate of the empire for two hundred and fifty 
years. 

In the early morning of the eventful day one of 
the pickets of Iyeyasu's host brought word that the 
army of the league was in full march from the castle 
of Ogaki. This important news was soon confirmed 
by others, and the general joyfully cried, "The enemy 
has indeed fallen into my hand." Throwing aside his 
helmet, he knotted a handkerchief over his forehead, 
saying that this was all the protection he should 
need in the coming battle. 

His army was seventy-five thousand strong. That 
opposed to him exceeded his in strength by more 
than fifty thousand men. But neither as yet knew 
what they had to encounter, for a fog lay heavy on 
the plain, and the two armies, drawn up in battle 
array, were invisible to each other. To prevent 
surprise, Iyeyasu sent in front of his army a body 
of guards bearing white flags, to give quick warning 
of an advance. 

At length, at eight o'clock, the fog rose and drifted 
away, revealing the embattled hosts. Hardly had 
it vanished before the drums beat their battle peal 



FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM. 89 

and the martial conchs sounded defiance, while a 
shower of arrows from each army hurtled through 
the opposing ranks. In a short time the impatient 
warriors met in mid field, and sword and spear began 
their deadly work. 

The great weight of the army of the league at 
first gave it the advantage, and for hours the result 
was in doubt, though a corps of the league forces 
deserted to the ranks of Iyeyasu. At length unity 
and discipline began to prevail, the intrepidity of 
Iyeyasu and his skill in taking advantage of every 
error of his enemy giving confidence to his men. 
By noon they were bearing back the foe. Ordering 
up the reserves, and bidding the drummers and 
conch-blowers to sound their most inspiriting appeal, 
Iyeyasu gave order for the whole army to charge. 

Before the impetuous onset that followed, the 
enemy wavered, broke, and fled, followed in hot 
pursuit by the victorious host. And now a frightful 
scene began. Thousands of heads of the flying 
were cut off by the keen-edged blades of their pur- 
suers. Most of the wounded and many of the un- 
hurt killed themselves upon the field, in obedience to 
the exaggerated Japanese sense of honor. The de- 
feat became a butchery. In Japanese battles of the 
past quarter was a mercy rarely craved or granted, 
.and decapitation the usual mode of death when the 
sword could be brought into play, so that the tri- 
umph of the victors was usually indicated by the 
dimensions of the ghastly heap of heads. In this 
frightful conflict the claim was made by the victors 
(doubtless an exaggeration) that they had taken 



90 HISTORICAL TALES. 

forty thousand heads of the foe, while their own loss 
was only four thousand. However that be, a great 
mound of heads was made, one of many such evi- 
dences of slaughter which may still be seen in 
Japan. 

Throughout the battle a knotted handkerchief 
was the only defence of Iyeyasu's head. The vic- 
tory won, he called for his helmet, which he put on, 
carefully tying the strings. As all looked on with 
surprise at this strange action, he, with a smile, 
repeated to them an old Japanese proverb, " After 
victory, knot the cords of your helmet." 

It was a suggestion of vigilance wisely given and 
alertly acted upon. The strongholds of the league 
were invested without delay, and one by one fell into 
the victors' hands. The fragments of the beaten 
army were followed and dispersed. Soon all oppo- 
sition was at an end, and Iyeyasu was lord and 
master of Japan. 

The story of the victor in the most decisive vic- 
tory Japan had ever known, one that was followed 
by two and a half centuries of peace, needs to com- 
plete it a recital of two important events, one being 
the founding of Tedo, the great eastern capital, the 
other the organization of the system of feudalism. 

For ages the country around the Bay of Yedo, 
now the chief centre of activity and civilization in 
Japan, was wild and thinly peopled. The first men- 
tion of it in history is in the famous march of Ya- 
mato-Dake, whose wife leaped here into the waves 
as a sacrifice to the maritime gods. In the fifteenth 
century a small castle was built on the site of the 



FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM. 91 

present city, while near it on the Tokaida, the great 
highway between the two ancient capitals, stood a 
small village, whose chief use was for the refresh- 
ment and assistance of travellers. 

Ota Dagnan, the lord of the castle, was a warrior 
of fame, whose deeds have gained him a place in the 
song and story of Japan. Of the tales told of him 
there is one whose poetic significance has given it a 
fixed place in the legendary lore of the land. One 
day, when the commandant was amusing himself in 
the sport of hawking, a shower of rain fell suddenly 
and heavily, forcing him to stop at a house near by 
and request the loan of a grass rain-coat, — a mino, to 
give it its Japanese name. 

A young and very pretty girl came to the door at 
his summons, listened to his polite request, and stood 
for a moment blushing and confused. Then, running 
into the garden, she plucked a flower, handed it with 
a mischievous air to the warrior, and disappeared 
within the house. Ota, angrily flinging down the 
flower, turned away, after an impulse to force his 
way into the house and help himself to the coat. 
He returned to the castle wet and fuming at the 
slight to his rank and dignity. 

Soon after he related the incident to some court 
nobles from Kioto, who had stopped at the castle, 
and who, to his surprise, did not share his indigna- 
tion at the act. 

"Why, the incident was delightful," said one 
among them who was specially versed in poetic lore ; 
"who would have looked for such wit and such 
knowledge of our classic poetry in a young girl in 



92 HISTORICAL TALES. 

this uncultivated spot ? The trouble is, friend Ota, 
that you are not learned enough to take the maiden's 
meaning." 

" I take it that she meant to laugh at a soaked 
fowler," growled the warrior. 

" Not so. It was only a graceful way of telling 
you that she had no mino to loan. She was too shy 
to say no to your request, and so handed you a 
mountain camellia. Centuries ago one of our poets 
sang of this flower, ' Although it has seven or eight 
petals, yet, I grieve to say, it has no seed' (mino). 
The cunning little witch has managed to say i no' 
to you in the most graceful way imaginable." 

Here, where the castle stood, Iyeyasu started to 
build a city, at the suggestion of his superior Hide- 
yoshi. Thus began the great city of Yedo, — now 
Tokio, the eastern capital of Japan. In 1600, Iye- 
yasu, then at the head of affairs, pushed the work on 
his new city with energy, employing no less than 
three hundred thousand men. The castle was en- 
larged, canals were excavated, streets laid out and 
graded, marshes filled, and numerous buildings 
erected, fleets of junks bringing granite for the 
citadel, while the neighboring forests furnished the 
timber for the dwellings. 

An outer ditch was dug on a grand scale, and 
gates and towers were built with no walls to join 
them and no dwellings within many furlongs of 
their site. But to those who laughed at the mag- 
nificent plan on which the young city had been laid 
out, the founder declared that the coming time would 
see his walls built and the dwellings of the city 



FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM. 93 

stretching far beyond them. Before a century his 
words were verified, and Yedo had a population of 
half a million souls. To-day it is the home of more 
than a million people. 

It is for his political genius that Iyeyasu partic- 
ularly deserves fame. Once more, in 1615, he was 
forced to fight for his supremacy, against the son of 
the late premier. A bloody battle followed, ending 
in victory for Iyeyasu and the burning of the castle 
of Ozaka, in whose flames the aspirant for power 
probably met his doom. No other battle was fought 
on the soil of Japan for two hundred and fifty-three 
years. 

Iyeyasu had the blood of the Minamoto clan in 
his veins. He had therefore an hereditary claim to 
the shogunate, as successor to the great Toritomo, 
the founder of the family and the first to bear the 
title of Great Shogun. This title, Sei-i Tai Shogun, 
was now conferred by the mikado on the new mili- 
tary chief, and was borne by his descendants, the 
Tokugawa family, until the great revolution of 1868, 
when the mikado again seized his long-lost authority. 

Before this period, civil war had for centuries 
desolated Japan. After 1615 war ceased in that 
long distracted land and peace and prosperity pre- 
vailed. What were the steps taken by the new 
shogun to insure this happy result ? It arose 
through the establishment of a well-defined system 
of feudalism, and the bringing of the feudal lords 
under the immediate control of the shogun. 

Japan was already organized on a semi-feudal 
system. The land was divided between the great 



94 HISTORICAL TALES. 

lords or daimios, who possessed strong castles and 
large landed estates, with a powerful armed follow- 
ing, and into whose treasuries much of the revenue 
of the kingdom flowed. These powerful princes of 
the realm were conciliated by the conqueror. Under 
them were daimios of smaller estate, many of whom 
had joined him in his career; and lower still a large 
number of minor military holders, whose grants of 
land enabled them to bring small bodies of followers 
into the field. 

Iyeyasu's plan was one of conciliation and the pre- 
vention of hostile union. He laid his plans and left 
it to time to do his work. Some of the richest fiefs 
of the empire were conferred upon his sons, who 
founded several of its most powerful families. The 
possessions of the other lords were redistributed, the 
land being divided up among them in a way to pre- 
vent rebellious concentration, vassals and adherents 
of his own being placed between any two neighbor- 
ing lords whose loyalty was in doubt. To prevent 
ambitious lords from seizing Kioto and making 
prisoner the mikado, as had frequently been done in 
the past, he surrounded it on all sides with strong 
domains ruled by his sons or friends. When his 
work of redistribution was finished, his friends and 
vassals everywhere lay between the realms of doubt- 
ful daimios. A hostile movement in force had been 
rendered nearly impossible. 

Below the daimios came the hatamoto, or sup- 
porters of the flag, direct vassals of the shogun, of 
whom there were eighty thousand in Japan, mostly 
descendants of proved warriors and with a train of 



FOUNDER OF YEDO AND OF MODERN FEUDALISM. 95 

from three to thirty retainers each. These were 
scattered throughout the empire, but the majority 
of them lived in Yedo. They formed the direct 
military dependence of the shogun, and held most 
of the military and civil positions. Under them 
again were the gokenin, the humbler members of the 
Togukawa clan, and hereditary followers of the 
shogun. All these formed the samurai, the men 
privileged to wear two swords and exempted from 
taxes. Their number and readiness gave the shogun 
complete military control of the empire, and made 
him master of all it held, from mikado to peasant. 

Such was the method adopted by the great states- 
man to insure peace to the empire and to keep the 
power within the grasp of his own family. In both 
respects it proved successful. A second important 
step was taken by Iyemitsu, his grandson, and after 
him the ablest of the family. By this time many of 
the noted warriors among the daimios were dead, 
and their sons, enervated by peace and luxury, could 
be dealt with more vigorously than would have been 
safe to do with their fathers. 

Iyemitsu suggested that all the daimios should 
make Yedo their place of residence for half the year. 
At first they were treated as guests, the shogun 
meeting them in the suburbs and dealing with them 
with great consideration. But as the years went on 
the daimios became more and more like prisoners on 
parole. They were obliged to pay tribute of respect 
to the shogun in a manner equivalent to doing 
homage. Though they could return at intervals to 
their estates, their wives and children were kept in 



96 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Yedo as hostages for their good behavior. When 
Iyemitsu died, the shoguns had cemented their power 
beyond dispute. The mikados, nominal emperors, 
were at their beck and call ; the daimios were virtual 
prisoners of state; the whole military power and 
revenues of the empire were under their control; 
conspiracy and attempted rebellion could be crushed 
by a wave of their hands ; peace ruled in Japan. 

Iyemitsu was the first to whom the title of Tai 
Kun (Tycoon), or Great King, was ever applied. It 
was in a letter written to Corea, intended to influ- 
ence foreigners. It was employed in a larger sense 
for the same purpose at a later date, as we shall 
hereafter see. Suffice it here to say that the Toku- 
gawas remained the rulers of Japan until 1868, when 
a new move in the game of empire was made. 



THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIAN- 
ITY IN JAPAN. 

The fact that such a realm as that of Japan existed 
remained unknown in. Europe until about six cen- 
turies ago, when Marco Polo, in his famous record 
of travel and adventure, first spoke of it. He knew 
of it, however, only by Chinese hearsay, and the 
story he told contained far more of fable than of 
fact. The Chinese at that time seem to have had 
little knowledge of their nearest civilized neigh- 
bor. 

11 Zipangu" — the name he gives it — is, he says, " an 
island in the Eastern Ocean, about fifteen hundred 
miles [Chinese miles] from the mainland. Its people 
are well made, of fair complexion, and civilized in 
manner, but idolaters in religion." He continues, 
" They have gold in the greatest abundance, its 
sources being inexhaustible. To this circumstance 
we are to attribute the extraordinary richness of the 
sovereign's palace according to what we are told by 
those who have access to the place. The entire roof 
is covered with a plating of gold, in the same man- 
ner as we cover houses, or more properly churches, 
with lead. The ceilings of the halls are of the same 
precious metal ; many of the apartments have small 
tables of pure gold, of considerable thickness ; and 
the windows have also golden ornaments. So vast, 

7 97 



98 HISTORICAL TALES. 

indeed, are the riches of the palace that it is impos- 
sible to convey an idea of them. In this island there 
are pearls also, in large quantities, of a pink color, 
round in shape and of great size, equal in value to, 
or even exceeding, that of the white pearls. There 
are also found there a number of precious stones." 

This story is as remote from truth as some of 
those told* by Sindbad the Sailor. Polo, no doubt, 
thought he was telling the truth, and knew that this 
cascade of gold and pearls would be to the taste of 
his readers, but anything more unlike the plainness 
and simplicity of the actual palace of the mikado it 
would be hard to find. 

For the next European knowledge of Japan we 
must step forward to the year 1542. Columbus 
had discovered America, and Portugal had found an 
ocean highway to the spice islands of the East. A 
Portuguese adventurer, Mendez Pinto by name, ven- 
tured as far as China, then almost unknown, and, 
with two companions, found himself on board a 
Chinese junk, half trader, half pirate. 

In a sea-fight with another corsair their pilot was 
killed, and soon after a fierce storm blew them far 
off shore. Seeking to make the Loochoo Islands, 
they lost them through lack of a pilot, and were 
tossed about at the ocean's will for twenty-three 
days, when they made harbor on Tane, a small island 
of Japan lying south of Kiushiu. Pinto, after his 
return to Europe, told so many marvellous stories 
about Japan that people doubted him as much as 
they had doubted Marco Polo. His very name, Men- 
dez, was extended into " mendacious." Yet time has 



THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN. 99 

done justice to both these old travellers, who either 
told, or tried to tell, the truth. 

The Portuguese travellers were well received by 
the islanders, — who knew not yet what firebrands 
they were welcoming. It took a century for Euro- 
peans to disgust the Japanese so thoroughly as to 
force the islanders to drive them from the land and 
put up the bars against their return. What in- 
terested the Japanese even more than their visitors 
were the new and strange weapons they bore. Pinto 
and his two comrades were armed with arquebuses, 
warlike implements such as they had never before 
seen, and whose powers filled them with astonishment 
and delight. It was the era of civil war in Japan, 
and the possession of a new and deadly weapon was 
eagerly welcomed by that martial people, who saw 
in it visions of speedy success over their enemies. 

Pinto was invited to the castle of the daimio of 
Bungo, whom he taught the arts of making guns 
and gunpowder. The Japanese, alert at taking ad- 
vantage of the discoveries of other people, were 
quick to manufacture powder and guns for them- 
selves, and in the wars told of in our last few tales 
native cannon were brought into use ; though the 
razor-edged sword continued the most death-dealing 
of their weapons. 

As for the piratical trader which conveyed Pinto 
to Japan, it sold its cargo at an immense profit, while 
the three Portuguese reached China again rich in 
presents. This was not Pinto's only visit to Japan. 
He made three other voyages thither, the last in 
1556, as ambassador from the Portuguese viceroy 



100 HISTORICAL TALES. 

in the East. On this occasion he learned that the 
islanders had made rapid progress in their new 
art of gun-making, they claiming to have thirty 
thousand guns in Fucheo, the capital of Bungo, and 
ten times that number in the whole land of Japan. 

The new market for European wares, opened by 
the visit of Pinto, was quickly taken advantage of 
by his countrymen, and Portuguese traders made 
their way by hundreds to Japan, where they met 
with the best of treatment. Guns and powder were 
especially welcome, as at that time the power of the 
Ashikaga clan was at an end, anarchy everywhere 
prevailed, and every local chief was in arms to win 
all he could from the ruins of the state. Such was 
the first visit of Europeans to Japan, and such the 
gift they brought, the fatal one of gunpowder. 

The next gift of Europe to Japan was that of the 
Christian faith. On Pinto's return to Malacca he 
met there the celebrated Francis Xavier, the father 
superior of the order of the Jesuits in India, where 
he had gained the highest reputation for sanctity and 
the power of working miracles. With the traveller 
was a Japanese named Anjiro, whom he had rescued 
from enemies that sought his death, and converted 
to Christianity. Xavier asked him whether the Jap- 
anese would be likely to accept the religion of the 
Christians. 

" My people will not be ready to accept at once 
what may be told them," said Anjiro, " but will ask 
you a multitude of questions, and, above all, will see 
whether your conduct agrees with your words. If 
they are satisfied, the king, the nobles, and the people 



THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN. 101 

will flock to Christ, since they constitute a nation 
that always accepts reason as a guide." 

Thus encouraged, Xavier, whose enthusiasm in 
spreading the gospel was deterred by no obstacle, set 
sail in 1549 for Japan, accompanied by two priests 
and Anjiro, the latter with a companion who had es- 
caped with him in his flight from Japan. 

The missionary party landed at Kagoshima, in 
Satsuma. Here they had little success, only the 
family and relatives of Anjiro accepting the new 
faith, and Xavier set out on a tour through the land, 
his goal being Kioto, the mikado's capital. Landing 
at Amanguchi, he presented himself before the people 
barefooted and meanly dressed, the result of his con- 
fessed poverty being that, instead of listening to his 
words, the populace hooted and stoned him and his 
followers. At Kioto he was little better received. 

Finding that a display of poverty was not the way 
to impress the Japanese, the missionary returned to 
the city of Kioto richly clothed and bearing presents 
and letters from the Portuguese viceroy to the em- 
peror. He was now well received and given per- 
mission to preach, and in less than a year had won 
over three thousand converts to the Christian faith. 

Naturally, on reaching Kioto, he had looked for 
the splendor spoken of by Marco Polo, the roof 
and ceilings of gold and the golden tables of the 
emperor's palace. He was sadly disenchanted on 
entering a city so desolated by fire and war that it 
was little more than a camp, and on beholding the 
plainest and least showy of all the palaces of the 
earth. 



102 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Returning to the port of Fucheo for the purpose 
of embarking for India, whence he designed to bring 
new laborers to the virgin field, Xavier preached 
with such success as to alarm the Buddhist bonzes, 
who made futile efforts to excite the populace against 
him as a vagabond and an enchanter. He returned 
no more to Japan, dying during the year after his 
return to India. But he had planted the seeds of 
what was destined to yield a great and noble harvest. 

In fact, the progress of Christianity in Japan was 
of the most encouraging kind. Other missionaries 
quickly followed the great Jesuit pioneer, and 
preached the gospel with surprising success. In 
less than five years after the visit of Xavier to 
Kioto that city possessed seven Christian churches, 
while there were many others in the southwest 
section of the empire. In 1581, thirty years after 
Xavier's death, there were in Japan two hundred 
churches, while the number of converts is given at 
one hundred and fifty thousand. Several of the 
daimios were converted to the new faith, and No- 
bunaga, who hated and strove to exterminate the 
Buddhists, received the Christians with the greatest 
favor, gave them desirable sites for their churches, 
and sought to set them up as a foil to the arrogance 
of the bonzes. 

The Christian daimios went so far as to send a 
delegation to the pope at Rome, which returned eight 
years afterwards with seventeen Jesuit missionaries, 
while a multitude of mendicant friars from the 
Philippine Islands and elsewhere sought the new 
field of labor, preaching with the greatest zeal and 



THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN. 103 

success. It is claimed that at the culminating point 
of proselytism in Japan the native Christians num- 
bered no less than six hundred thousand, among 
them being several princes, and many lords, high 
officials, generals, and other military and naval offi- 
cers, with numerous women of noble blood. In 
some provinces the Christian shrines and crosses 
were as numerous as the Buddhist shrines had been 
before, while there were thousands of churches, 
chapels, and ecclesiastical edifices. 

This remarkable success, unprecedented in the his- 
tory of Christian missionary work, was due in great 
measure to certain conditions then existing in Japan. 
When Xavier and his successors reached Japan, it 
was to find the people of that country in a state of 
the greatest misery, the result of a long era of an- 
archy and misrule. Of the native religions, Shintoism 
had in great measure vanished, while Buddhism, 
though affecting the imaginations of the people by 
the gorgeousness of its service, had little with which 
to reach their hearts. 

Christianity came with a ceremonial more splendid 
than that of Buddhism, and an eloquence that capti- 
vated the imaginations of the Japanese. Instead of 
the long series of miseries of Buddhist transmigration, 
it promised immediate entrance to the glories of 
heaven after death, a doctrine intensely attractive 
to those who had little to hope for but misery during 
life. The story of the life and death of Christ 
strongly impressed the minds of the people, as com- 
pared with the colder story of Buddha's career, 
while the great similarity between the modes of 



104 HISTORICAL TALES. 

worship of the two religions proved of the greatest 
assistance to the advocates of the new creed. The 
native temples were made to serve as Christian 
churches; the images of Buddha and his saints 
were converted into those of Christ and the apos- 
tles; the organization of the two religions was 
closely similar, and nearly everything distinctive of 
Buddhist had its counterpart in the Eoman Catholic 
ceremonial. 

One of the methods pursued in the propagation of 
Christianity had never been adopted by the Buddh- 
ists, that of persecution of alien faiths. The spirit 
of the Inquisition, then active in Europe, was brought 
to Japan. The missionaries attacked the character 
of their opponents, and instigated their converts to 
destroy the idols and desecrate the old shrines. 
Gold was used freely as an agent in conversion, and 
the Christian daimios compelled their subjects to fol- 
low them in accepting the new faith. In whole dis- 
tricts the people were ordered to accept Christian- 
ity or to exile themselves from their homes. Exile 
or death was the fate of many of the bonzes, and 
fire and the sword lent effect to preaching in the 
propagation of the doctrine of Christianity. 

To quote a single instance, from Charlevoix's 
11 History of the Christianizing of Japan," "In 
1577 the lord of the island of Amacusa issued his 
proclamation, by which his subjects — whether bon- 
zes or gentlemen, merchants or traders — were re- 
quired either to turn Christians, or to leave the 
country the very next day. They almost all sub- 
mitted, and received baptism, so that in a short time 



THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN. 105 

there were more than twenty churches in the king- 
dom. God wrought miracles to confirm the faithful 
in their belief." 

Miracles of the kind here indicated and others 
that might be quoted were not of the character of 
those performed by Christ, and such methods of 
making proselytes were very likely to recoil upon 
those that indulged in them. How the result of the 
introduction of European methods manifested itself 
in Japan will be indicated in our next tale. 



THE DECLINE AND FALL OF 
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. 

We have described in the preceding tale the rise of 
Christianity in Japan, and the remarkable rapidity 
of its development in that remote land. We have 
now to describe its equally rapid decline and fall, 
and the exclusion of Europeans from Japanese soil. 
It must be said here that this was in no sense due 
to the precepts of Christianity, but wholly to the 
practice of its advocates, their jealousy and abuse 
of one another, and to the quarrels between different 
nations who hoped to gain a lion's share of the trade 
with Japan. 

At the time when the Portuguese came to Japan 
all Europe was torn with wars, civil, political, and 
religious. These quarrels were transferred to the 
soil of Japan, and in the end so disgusted the people 
of that empire that Europeans were forbidden to set 
foot on its shores and the native Christians were 
massacred. Traders, pirates, missionaries, and slave- 
dealers made their way thither, with such a hodge- 
podge of interests, and such a medley of lies and 
backbitings, that the Japanese became incensed 
against the whole of them, and in the end decided 
that their room was far better than their company. 

The Portuguese were followed to Japan by the 
Spaniards, and these by the Dutch, each trying to 
106 



DECLINE AND FALL OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. 107 

blacken the character of the others. The Catholics 
abused the Protestants, and were as vigorously abused 
in return. Each trading nation lied with the most 
liberal freedom about its rivals. To the seaports 
of Hirado and Nagasaki came a horde of the out- 
casts of Europe, inveterately hostile to one another, 
and indulging in quarrels, riots, and murders to an 
extent which the native authorities found difficult 
to control. In addition, the slave-trade was eagerly 
prosecuted, slaves being so cheap, in consequence of 
the poverty and misery arising from the civil wars, 
that even the negro and Malay servants of the 
Portuguese indulged in this profitable trade, which 
was continued in spite of decrees threatening all 
slave-dealers with death. 

This state of affairs, and the recriminations of the 
religious sects, gave very natural disgust to the 
authorities of Japan, who felt little respect for a 
civilization that showed itself in such uncivilized 
shapes, and the disputing and fighting foreigners 
were rapidly digging their own graves in Japan. 
During the life of ISTobunaga all went on well. In 
his hatred to the Buddhist bonzes he favored the 
Jesuits, and Christianity found a clear field. With 
the advent of Hideyoshi there came a change. His 
early favor to the missionaries was followed by dis- 
gust, and in 1587 he issued a decree banishing them 
from the land. The churches and chapels were 
closed, public preaching ceased, but privately the 
work of conversion went actively on, as many as 
ten thousand converts being made each year. 

The Spanish mendicant friars from the Philippines 



108 HISTORICAL TALES. 

were bolder in their work. Defying the decree, they 
preached openly in the dress of their orders, not 
hesitating to denounce in violent language the ob- 
noxious law. As a result the decree was renewed, 
and a number of the priests and their converts were 
crucified. But still the secret work of the Jesuits 
continued and the number of converts increased, 
among them being some of the generals in the Corean 
war. 

With the accession of Iyeyasu began a rapid down- 
fall of Christianity in Japan. In the great battle 
which raised him to the head of affairs some of the 
Christian leaders were killed. Konishi, a Christian 
general, who had commanded one division of the 
army in Corea, was executed. On every side there 
was evidence of a change in the tide of affairs, and 
the Christians of Japan began to despair. 

The daimios no longer bade their followers to 
become Christians. On the contrary, they ordered 
them to renounce the new faith, under threat of 
punishment. Their harshness resulted in rebellion, 
so new a thing among the peasantry of Japan that 
the authorities felt sure that they had been secretly 
instigated to it by the missionaries. The wrath of 
the shogun aroused, he sent soldiers against the 
rebels, putting down each outbreak with bloodshed, 
and in 1606 issued a decree abolishing the Christian 
faith. This the Spanish friars defied, as they had 
that of his predecessor. 

In 1611, Iyeyasu was roused to more active meas- 
ures by the discovery of a plot between the foreign- 
ers and the native converts for the overthrow of the 



DECLINE AND FALL OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. 109 

government. Sado, whose mines were worked by 
thousands of Christian exiles, was to be the centre 
of the outbreak, its governor, Okubo, being chosen 
as the leader and the proposed new ruler of the 
land. 

Iyeyasu, awakened to the danger, now took active 
steps to crush out the foreign faith. A large num- 
ber of friars and Jesuits, with native priests, were 
forcibly sent from the country, while the siege and 
capture of the castle of Ozaka in 1615 ended the 
career of all the native friends of the Jesuits, and 
brought final ruin upon the Christian cause in Japan. 

During the reigns of the succeeding shoguns a 
violent persecution began. The Dutch traders, who 
showed no disposition to interfere in religious affairs, 
succeeded in ousting their Portuguese rivals, all for- 
eigners except Dutch and Chinese being banished 
from Japan, while foreign trade was confined to the 
two ports of Hirado and Nagasaki. This was fol- 
lowed by a cruel effort to extirpate what was now 
looked on as a pestilent foreign faith. Orders were 
issued that the people should trample on the cross 
or on a copper plate engraved with the image of 
Christ. Those who refused were exposed to hor- 
rible persecutions, being wrapped in sacks of straw 
and burnt to death in heaps of fuel, while terrible 
tortures were employed to make them renounce 
their faith. Some were flung alive into open graves, 
many burned with the wood of the crosses before 
which they had prayed, others flung from the edge 
of precipices. Yet they bore tortures and endured 
death with a fortitude not surpassed by that of the 



110 HISTORICAL TALES. 

martyrs of old, clinging with, the highest Christian 
ardor to their new faith. 

In 1637 these excesses of persecution led to an 
insurrection, the native Christians rising in thou- 
sands, seizing an old castle at Shimabara, and openly- 
defying their persecutors. Composed as they were 
of farmers and peasants, the commanders who 
marched against them at the head of veteran ar- 
mies looked for an easy conquest, but with all their 
efforts the insurgents held out against them for two 
months. The fortress was at length reduced by the 
aid of cannon taken from the Dutch traders, and 
after the slaughter of great numbers of the gar- 
rison. The bloody work was consummated by the 
massacre of thirty-seven thousand Christian pris- 
oners, and the flinging of thousands more from a 
precipice into the sea below. Many were banished, 
and numbers escaped to Formosa, whither others had 
formerly made their way. The " evil sect" was for- 
mally prohibited, while edicts were issued declaring 
that as long as the sun should shine no foreigner 
should enter Japan and no native should leave it. 
A slight exception was made in favor of the Dutch, 
of whom a small number were permitted to reside 
on the little island of Deshima, in the harbor of Na- 
gasaki, one trading ship being allowed to come there 
each year. 

Thus ended the career of foreign trade and mis- 
sionary labor in Japan. It had continued for nearly 
a century, yet left no mark of its presence except 
the use of gunpowder and fire-arms, the culture of 
tobacco and the habit of smoking, the naturalization 



DECLINE AND FALL OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. Ill 

of a few foreign words and of several strange dis- 
eases, and, as an odd addition, the introduction of 
sponge-cake, still everywhere used as a favorite 
viand. As for Christianity, the very name of Christ 
became execrated, and was employed as the most 
abhorrent word that could be spoken in Japan. The 
Christian faith was believed to be absolutely extir- 
pated, and yet it seems to have smouldered unseen 
during the centuries. As late as 1829 seven persons 
suspected of being Christians were crucified in Ozaka. 
Yet in 1860, when the French missionaries were ad- 
mitted to Nagasaki, they found in the surrounding 
villages no fewer than ten thousand people who still 
clung in secret to the despised and persecuted faith. 
The French and English had little intercourse 
with Japan, but the career of one Englishman there 
is worthy of mention. This was a pilot named Will 
Adams, who arrived there in 1607 and lived in or 
near Yedo until his death in 1620. He seems to 
have been a manly and honest fellow, who won the 
esteem of the people and the favor of the shogun, 
by whom he was made an officer and given for sup- 
port the revenue of a village. His skill in ship- 
building and familiarity with foreign affairs made 
him highly useful, and he was treated with great re- 
spect and kindness, though not allowed to leave 
Japan. He had left a wife and daughter in England, 
but married again in Japan, his children there being 
a son and daughter, whose descendants may still be 
found in that country. Anjin Cho (Pilot Street) 
in Yedo was named from him, and the inmates of 
that street honor his memory with an annual cele- 



112 HISTORICAL TALES. 

bration on the 15th of June. His tomb may still 
be seen on one of the hills overlooking the Bay 
of Yedo, where two neat stone shafts, set on a pedi- 
ment of stone, mark the burial-place of the only 
foreigner who in past times ever attained to honor 
in Japan. 



THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN 
GOLOWNIN. 

Japan was persistent in its policy of isolation. To 
its people their group of islands was the world, and 
they knew little of and cared less for what was going 
on in all the continents outside. The Dutch vessel 
that visited their shores once a year served as an 
annual newspaper, and satisfied their curiosity as 
to the doings of mankind. The goods it brought 
were little cared for, Japan being sufficient unto 
itself, so that it served merely as a window to the 
world. Once a year a delegation from the Dutch 
settlement visited the capital, but the visitors 
travelled almost like prisoners, and were forced to 
crawl in to the mikado on their hands and knees 
and to back out again in the same crab-like fashion. 
Some of these envoys wrote accounts of what they 
had seen, and that was all that was known of Japan 
for two centuries. 

This state of affairs could not continue. With the 
opening of the nineteenth century the ships of Europe 
began to make their way in large numbers to the 
North Pacific, and efforts were made to force open 
the locked gates of Japan. Some sought for food 
and water. These could be had at Nagasaki, but 
nowhere else, and were given with a warning to 
move on. In some cases shipwrecked Japanese were 

8 113 



114 HISTORICAL TALES. 

brought back in foreign vessels, but according to law 
such persons were looked upon as no longer Japanese, 
and no welcome was given to those who brought them. 
In other cases wrecked whalers and other mariners 
sought safety on Japanese soil, but they were held 
strict prisoners, and rescued only with great diffi- 
culty. The law was that foreigners landing any- 
where on the coast, except at Nagasaki, should be 
seized and condemned to perpetual imprisonment, 
and that those landing at Nagasaki must strictly 
abstain from Christian worship. 

Meanwhile the Eussians had become, through 
their Siberian ports, near neighbors of Japan, and 
sought to open trade with that country. In 1793 
Lieutenant Laxman landed at Hakodate and travelled 
overland to Matsumai, bringing with him some ship- 
wrecked Japanese and seeking for commercial rela- 
tions with Japan. He was treated with courtesy, 
but dismissed without an answer to his demand, and 
told that he could take his Japanese back with him 
or leave them as he pleased. 

In 1804 the Eussians came again, this time to 
Nagasaki. This vessel also brought back some ship- 
wrecked Japanese, and had on board a Eussian 
count, sent as ambassador from the czar. But the 
shogun refused to receive the ambassador or to 
accept his presents, and sent him word that Japan 
had little need of foreign productions, and got all it 
wanted from the Dutch and Chinese. All this was 
said with great politeness, but the ambassador 
thought that he had been shabbily treated, and 
went away angry, reproaching the Dutch for his 



THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN. 115 

failure. His anger against the Japanese was shown 
in a hostile fashion. In 1805 he sent out two small 
vessels, whose crews landed on the island of Sagha- 
lien, plundered a Japanese settlement there, carried 
off some prisoners, and left behind a written state- 
ment that this had been done to revenge the slights 
put upon the Eussian ambassador. 

This violence was amply repaid by the Japanese. 
How they did so we have now to tell. In 1811 Cap- 
tain Golownin, an intelligent and educated officer of 
the Eussian navy, was sent in command of the sloop- 
of-war Diana to explore the Kurile Islands. These 
belonged to Japan, and were partly settled. At the 
south end of Kunashir, one of these islands, was a 
Japanese settlement, with a garrison. Here Golow- 
nin, having landed with two officers, four men, and 
an interpreter, was invited into the fort. He en- 
tered unsuspectingly, but suddenly found himself 
detained as a prisoner, and held as such despite all 
the efforts of the Diana to obtain his release. 

The prisoners were at once bound with small cords 
in a most painful way, their elbows being drawn 
behind their backs until they almost touched, and 
their hands firmly tied together, the cords being 
also brought in loops around their breasts and necks. 
A long cord proceeded from these fastenings and was 
held by a Japanese, who, if an attempt were made 
to escape, had only to pull it to bring the elbows 
together with great pain and to tighten the loop 
around the neck so as nearly to strangle the prisoner. 
Their ankles and knees were also firmly bound. 

In this condition they were conveyed to Hako- 



116 HISTORICAL TALES. 

date, in the island of Yeso, a distance of six or seven 
hundred miles, being carried, on the land part of the 
route, in a sort of palanquin made of planks, unless 
they preferred to walk, in which case the cords were 
loosened about their legs. At night they were 
trussed up more closely still, and the ends of their 
ropes tied to iron hooks in the wall. The cords were 
drawn so tight as in time to cut into the flesh, yet 
for six or seven days their guards refused to loosen 
them, despite their piteous appeals, being fearful 
that their prisoners might commit suicide, this being 
the favorite Japanese method in extremity. 

The escort consisted of nearly two hundred men. 
Two Japanese guides, changed at each new district, 
led the way, carrying handsomely carved staves. 
Three soldiers followed. Then came Captain Golow- 
nin, with a soldier on one side, and on the other an 
attendant with a twig to drive off the gnats, from 
whose troublesome attacks he was unable to defend 
himself. Next came an officer holding the end of 
the rope that bound him, followed by a party carry- 
ing his litter or palanquin. Each of the prisoners 
was escorted in the same manner. In the rear came 
three soldiers, and a number of servants carrying 
provisions and baggage. 

Aside from their bonds, the captives were well 
treated, being supplied with three meals a day, con- 
sisting of rice gruel, soup made of radishes or other 
roots, a kind of macaroni, and a piece of fish. Mush- 
rooms or hard-boiled eggs were sometimes supplied. 

Golownin's bitter complaints at length had the 
effect of a loosening of their bonds, which enabled 



THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN. 117 

them to get along more comfortably. Their guards 
took great care of their health, making frequent 
halts to rest, and carrying them across all the streams, 
so that they should not wet their feet. In case of 
rain they furnished them with Japanese quilted 
gowns for protection. In all the villages the inhab- 
itants viewed them with great curiosity, and at 
Hakodate the street was crowded with spectators, 
some with silk dresses and mounted on richly capari- 
soned horses. None of the people showed any sign 
of malice or any disposition to insult the prisoners, 
while in their journey they were cheered by many 
displays of sympathy and piety. 

At Hakodate they were imprisoned in a long, 
barn-like building, divided into apartments hardly 
six feet square, each formed of thick spars and re- 
sembling a cage. Outside were a high fence and an 
earthen wall. Here their food was much worse than 
that on the journey. While here they were several 
times examined, being conducted through the streets 
to a castle-like building, where they were brought 
into the presence of the governor and several other 
officials, who put to them a great variety of ques- 
tions, some of them of the most trivial character. 
A letter was also brought them, which had been 
sent on shore from the Diana along with their bag- 
gage, and which said that the ship would return to 
Siberia for reinforcements, and then would never 
leave Japan till the prisoners were released. 

Some time afterwards the captives were removed 
to Matsumai, being supplied with horses on the 
journey, but still to some extent fettered with ropes. 



118 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Here they were received by a greater crowd than 
before, Matsumai being a more important town than 
Hakodate. Their prison was similar to the pre- 
ceding one, but their food was much better, and after 
a time they were released from their cage-like cells 
and permitted to dwell together in a large room. 
They were, as before, frequently examined, their 
captors being so inquisitive and asking such trifling 
and absurd questions that at times they grew so 
annoyed as to refuse to answer. But no display of 
passion affected the politeness of the Japanese, whose 
coolness and courtesy seemed unlimited. 

Thus the first winter of their captivity was passed. 
In the spring they were given more liberty, being 
allowed to take walks in the vicinity of the town. 
Soon after they were removed from their prison to 
a dwelling of three apartments, though they were 
still closely watched. 

This strict confinement, of which they could see 
no end, at length became so irksome that the pris- 
oners determined to escape. Their walks had made 
them familiar with the character of the surrounding 
country, and enabled them also to gain possession 
of a few tools, with which they managed to make a 
tunnel to the outer air. Leaving their cells at night, 
they succeeded in reaching the mountains back of 
the town, whence they hoped to find some means 
of escaping by sea. 

But in the flight Golownin had hurt his leg 
severely, the pain being so great that he was 
scarcely able to walk. This prevented the fugitives 
from getting far from the town, while their wander- 



THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN. 119 

ings through the mountains were attended with 
many difficulties and dangers. After a week thus 
spent, they were forced to seek the coast, where 
they were seen and recaptured. 

The captives were now confined in the common 
jail of the town, though they were not treated any 
more harshly than before, and no ill will was shown 
them by the officials. Even the soldier who was 
most blamed for their escape treated them with his 
former kindness. They were soon sent back to their 
old prison, where they passed a second winter, re- 
ceiving while there visits from a Japanese astronomer 
and others in search of information. One old officer, 
who was very civil to them, at one time brought them 
portraits of three richly dressed Japanese ladies, tell- 
ing them to keep them, as they might enjoy looking 
at them when time hung heavy on their hands. 

Meanwhile their countrymen were making earnest 
efforts to obtain their release. Some months after 
their capture the Diana, now under Captain Bi- 
kord, returned to Kunashir, bringing one of the Jap- 
anese who had been taken prisoner in the descent on 
Sagh alien. The other had died. Six other Japanese, 
who had been lately shipwrecked, were brought, in 
the hope of exchanging these seven for the seven 
prisoners. Efforts were made to communicate with 
the Japanese, but they refused to receive the Eussian 
message, and sent back word that the prisoners were 
all dead. Two of the Japanese sent ashore failed to 
return. 

Eikord, weary of the delay and discourtesy shown, 
now resolved to take more vigorous action, and 



120 HISTORICAL TALES. 

seized upon a large Japanese ship that entered the 
bay, taking prisoner the captain, who seemed to be 
a person of distinction, and who told them that six 
of the Eussians were in the town of Matsumai. Not 
fully crediting this, Eikord resolved to carry his 
captive to Kamchatka, hoping to obtain from him 
some useful information concerning the purposes of 
the Japanese government. At Eikord's request the 
merchant wrote a letter to the commander of the 
fort at Kunashir, telling him what was proposed. 
No answer was returned, and when the boats tried 
to land for water they were fired upon. The guns 
were also turned upon the Diana whenever she ap- 
proached the shore, but with such wretched aim that 
the Eussians only laughed at it. 

In the following summer the Diana returned to 
Kunashir, bringing Kachi, the merchant, who had 
been seriously ill from homesickness, and two of his 
attendants, the others having died. The two attend- 
ants were sent on shore, Kachi bidding them to tell 
that he had been very well treated, and that the 
ship had made an early return on account of his 
health. On the next day Eikord unconditionally set 
free his captive, trusting to his honor for his doing 
all he could to procure the release of the prisoners. 

Kachi kept his word, and soon was able to obtain 
a letter in the handwriting of Golownin, stating that 
he and his companions were all alive and well at 
Matsumai. Afterwards one of the Eussian sailors 
was brought to Kunashir and sent on board the 
Diana, with the understanding that he would return 
to the fort every night. Despite the watchfulness 



THE CAPTIVITY OF CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN. 121 

of the Japanese, he succeeded in bringing a letter 
from Golownin, which he had sewed into his jacket. 
This advised Eikord to be prudent, civil, and patient, 
and not to send him any letters or papers which 
would cause him to be tormented with questions or 
translations. In truth, he had been fairly tortured 
by the refinements of Japanese curiosity. Finally an 
ultimatum was obtained from the Japanese, who re- 
fused to deliver up their prisoners until they received 
from the authorities at Okhotsk a formal written 
statement that they had not ordered the hostile pro- 
ceedings at Saghalien. The Diana returned for 
this, and in October made her appearance at Hako- 
date, bearing the letter required and another from 
the governor of Irkutsk. 

The ship had no sooner entered the harbor than 
it was surrounded by a multitude of boats, of all 
kinds and sizes, filled with the curious of both sexes, 
many of whom had never before set eyes on a Eu- 
ropean vessel. They were in such numbers that the 
watch-boats, filled with soldiers, had great ado to keep 
them back. 

Kachi came on board the next morning, and was 
given the letter from the governor of Okhotsk. The 
other Eikord would not deliver except in person, 
and after much delay an interview with the gov- 
ernor was arranged, at which Rikord was received 
with much state and ceremony. The letter of the 
governor of Irkutsk was now formally delivered, in 
a box covered with purple cloth, its reception being 
followed by an entertainment composed of tea and 
sweetmeats. 



122 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Meanwhile Golownin and his companions, from 
the time the Diana set out for Okhotsk, had been 
treated rather as guests than as prisoners. They 
were now brought to Hakodate and delivered to 
Eikord, after an imprisonment of more than two 
years. With them was sent a paper reiterating 
the Japanese policy of isolation, and declaring that 
any ships that should thereafter present themselves 
would be received with cannon-balls instead of com- 
pliments. 

In all this business Kachi had worked with tireless 
energy. At first he was received with reserve as 
having come from a foreign country. He was placed 
under guard, and for a long time was not permitted 
to see Golownin, but by dint of persistence had done 
much in favor of the release of the prisoners. 

His abduction had thrown his family into the 
greatest distress, and his wife had made a pilgrimage 
through all Japan, as a sort of penitential offering to 
the favoring gods. During his absence his business 
had prospered, and before the departure of the 
Diana he presented the crew with dresses of silk 
and cotton wadding, the best to his favorites, the 
cook being especially remembered. He then begged 
permission to treat the crew. 

" Sailors are all alike," he said, " whether Eussian 
or Japanese. They are all fond of a glass ; and 
there is no danger in the harbor of Hakodate." 

So that night the crew of the Diana enjoyed a 
genuine sailors' holiday, with a plentiful supply of 
saki and Japanese tobacco. 



THE OPENING OF JAPAN. 

On the 8th of July, 1853, the Japanese were 
treated to a genuine surprise. Off Cape Idsu, the 
outer extremity of the Bay of Yedo, appeared a 
squadron of war- vessels bound inward under full 
sail, in bold disregard of the lines of prohibition 
which Japan had drawn across the entrance of all 
her ports. Eounding the high mountains of the 
promontory of Idsu, by noon the fleet reached Cape 
Sagami, which forms the dividing line between the 
outer and inner sections of the Bay of Yedo. Here 
the shores rose in abrupt bluffs, furrowed by green 
dells, while in the distance could be seen groves and 
cultivated fields. From the cape a number of vessels 
put out to intercept the squadron, but, heedless of 
these, it kept on through the narrow part of the bay — 
from five ta eight miles wide — and entered the inner 
bay, which expands to a width of more than fifteen 
miles. Here the ships dropped anchor within full 
view of the town of Uragawa, having broken through 
the invisible bonds which Japan had so long drawn 
around her coasts. 

During the period between the release of the 
Eussian captives and the date of this visit various 
foreign vessels had appeared on the coast of Japan, 
each with some special excuse for its presence, yet 
each arbitrarily ordered to leave. One of these, an 

123 



124 HISTORICAL TALES. 

American trading vessel, the Morrison, had been 
driven off with musketry and artillery, although she 
bad come to return a number of shipwrecked Jap- 
anese. Some naval vessels had entered the Bay of 
Yedo, but had been met with such vigorous oppo- 
sition that they made their visits very short, and as 
late as 1850 the Japanese notified foreign nations 
that they proposed to maintain their rigorous system 
of exclusion. No dream came to them of the re- 
markable change in their policy which a few decades 
were to bring forth. 

Thejr did not know that they were seeking to 
maintain an impossible situation. China had adopted 
a similar policy, but already the cannon-balls of for- 
eign powers had produced a change of view. If 
Japan had not peaceably yielded, the hard hand of 
war must soon have broken down her bars. For in 
addition to Eussia there was now another civilized 
power with ports on the Pacific, the United States. 
And the fleets of the European powers were making 
their way in growing numbers to those waters. In 
a period when all the earth was being opened to 
commercial intercourse, Japan could not hope long 
to remain a little world in herself, like a separate 
planet in space. 

It was the settlement of California, and the in- 
crease of American interests on the Pacific, that in- 
duced the United States to make a vigorous effort to 
open the ports of Japan. Hitherto all nations had 
yielded to the resolute policy of the islanders ; now 
it was determined to send an expedition with in- 
structions not to take no for an answer, but to insist 



THE OPENING OF JAPAN. 125 

on the Japanese adopting the policy of civilized 
nations in general. It was with this purpose that 
the fleet in question had entered the Bay of Yedo. 
It was under command of Commodore Matthew C. 
Perry, who bore a letter from the President of the 
United States to the Emperor of Japan, suggesting 
the desirability of commercial relations between the 
two countries, requesting the supply of American 
vessels with coal and provisions, and demanding the 
kind treatment and prompt return of shipwrecked 
mariners. This letter, splendidly engrossed, was en- 
closed in a golden box of a thousand dollars in value, 
and was accompanied by numerous presents. The 
fleet consisted of the steam-frigates Susquehanna 
and Mississippi and the sloops-of-war Plymouth and 
Saratoga, being the most imposing armament that 
had ever entered a Japanese port. Perry was de- 
termined to maintain his dignity as a representative 
of the United States, and to demand as a right, in- 
stead of soliciting as a favor, the courtesies due from 
one civilized nation to another. 

The ships had no sooner dropped anchor in the 
bay than several guns were fired from a neighboring 
point and a number of boats put off from the shore. 
In the stern of each were a small flag and several men 
wearing two swords, evidently persons in authority. 
These boats were stopped at the ships' sides, and 
their inmates told that no person could be admitted 
on board except the principal official of the town, 
the high rank of the commodore forbidding him to 
meet any lesser dignitary. As one of the visitors 
represented that he was second in rank in the town, 



126 HISTORICAL TALES. 

he was finally received on board the flag-ship, but 
the commodore declined to see him, turning him over 
to Mr. Contee, the flag lieutenant. 

A long interview followed, in which the official 
was made to understand that the expedition bore a 
letter from the President of the United States to the 
emperor, a message of such importance that it could 
be delivered only to an officer of high rank. He 
was also told, through the interpreters, that the 
squadron would not submit to be placed under guard, 
and that all the guard-boats must withdraw. The 
official displayed much of the inquisitive curiosity 
for which the Japanese had made themselves notable 
on former occasions, and asked a variety of unim- 
portant questions which the lieutenant refused to 
answer, saying that they were impertinent. 

The Japanese officer had brought with him the 
ordinary notifications, warning all ships against en- 
tering their ports, but these the lieutenant refused 
to receive. Eeturning to the shore, in about an hour 
the officer came back, saying that his superior could 
not receive the letter addressed to the emperor, and 
stating that Nagasaki was the proper place for 
foreign ships to stop. As for the letter, he doubted 
if it would be received and answered. He was at 
once given to understand that if the governor of the 
town did not send for the letter, the ships would 
proceed up the bay to Tedo and deliver it them- 
selves. At this he withdrew in a state of great agi- 
tation, asking permission to return in the morning. 

During the night watch-fires blazed at points 
along the coast, and bells sounded the hours. The 



THE OPENING OP JAPAN. 127 

watch-boats remained around the fleet, but kept at a 
respectful distance from the perilous intruders. The 
next morning the highest official of the town came 
on board, but did his utmost to avoid receiving the 
letter. In the end he offered to send to Yedo for 
permission, and was granted three days for this pur- 
pose. 

While awaiting an answer the ships were not idle. 
Surveying parties were sent four miles up the bay, 
sounding, and finding everywhere a depth of from 
thirty to forty fathoms. As they approached the 
forts armed soldiers came out, but retired again 
when the boats drew nearer. The forts, five in num- 
ber, were very feeble, their total armament consist- 
ing of fourteen guns, none larger than nine-pounders. 
Many of the soldiers were armed with spears. Can- 
vas screens were stretched from tree to tree, as 
if with the idea that these would keep back cannon- 
balls. In truth, the means of defence were so slight 
that Yedo lay at the mercy of the American fleet. 

Villages seemed to line the shores in an unbroken 
series, and numerous small craft lay in the harbor, 
while trading vessels came in and out with little re- 
gard to the presence of the foreign ships. Every 
day there passed up and down the bay nearly a 
hundred large junks and a great number of fishing 
and other boats. 

Yezaimon, the governor of the town, protested 
earnestly against the survey of the waters by the 
ships, saying that it was against the laws of Japan. 
He was told that it was commanded by the laws of 
America, and the soundings went steadily on. On 



128 HISTORICAL TALES. 

the second day the surveying party proceeded some 
ten miles up the bay, the Mississippi steaming in 
their wake. This roused new agitation in the 
Japanese, government boats meeting them at every 
point and making earnest signs to them to return. 
But no notice was taken of these gestures, and the 
survey was continued, deep soundings and soft bottom 
being found throughout. 

In the evening Yezaimon came on board with a 
cheerful countenance, saying that he expected good 
news from Yedo, though he protested still against 
the doings of the boats. One of the officers speaks of 
him as a " gentleman, clever, polished, well informed, 
a fine, large man, about thirty-four, of most excel- 
lent countenance, taking his wine freely, and a boon 
companion." 

On the 12th word came that the emperor would 
send a high officer to receive the letter. No imme- 
diate answer would be given, but one would be for- 
warded through the Dutch or the Chinese. This offer 
the commodore rejected as insulting. But, fearing 
that he might be detained by useless delay, he agreed 
to withdraw for a proper interval, at the end of 
which he would return to receive the answer. 

On the 14th the reception of the letter took place, 
the occasion being made one of much ceremony. 
The commodore landed with due formality, through 
a line of Japanese boats, and with a following of 
three hundred and twenty officers and sailors from 
the fleet. Passing through a large body of soldiers, 
behind whom stood a crowd of spectators, the build- 
ing prepared for the reception was reached. It was 



THE OPENING OF JAPAN. 129 

a temporary structure, the reception-room of which 
was hung with fine cloth, stamped with the imperial 
symbols in white on a violet background. The 
princes of Idsu and Iwami awaited as the envoys of 
the shogun, both of them splendidly attired in richly 
embroidered robes of silk. 

A large scarlet-lacquered box, on gilded feet, stood 
ready to receive the letter, which, after being shown 
in its rich receptacle, was placed on the scarlet box, 
with translations in Dutch and Chinese. A formal 
receipt was given, ending with the following words: 
" Because the place is not designed to treat of any- 
thing from foreigners, so neither can conference nor 
entertainment take place. The letter being received, 
you will leave here." 

" I shall return again, probably in April or May, 
for an answer," said the commodore, on receiving the 
receipt. 

" With all the ships ?" asked the interpreter. 

" Yes, and probably with more," was the reply. 

This said, the commodore rose and departed, the 
commissioners standing, but not another word being 
uttered on either side. As if to indicate to his hosts 
how little he regarded the curt order to leave, the 
commodore proceeded in the Susquehanna up the 
bay to the point the Mississippi had reached. Here 
he dropped anchor, the spot being afterwards known 
as the "American anchorage." On the following 
day he sent the Mississippi ten miles higher up, a 
point being reached within eight or ten miles of the 
capital. Three or four miles in advance a crowded 
mass of shipping was seen, supposed to lie at Sina- 

9 



130 HISTORICAL TALES. 

gawa, the southern suburb of Tedo. On the 16th 
the vessels moved down the bay, and on the follow- 
ing day they stood out to sea, no doubt greatly to 
the relief of the Japanese officials. 

In consequence of the death of the shogun, which 
took place soon after, Perry did not return for his 
answer until the following year, casting anchor again 
in the Bay of Tedo on February 12, 1854. He had 
now a larger fleet, consisting of three steam-frigates, 
four sloops-of-war, and two store-ships. Entering 
the bay, they came to anchor at the point known as 
the " American anchorage." 

And now a debate arose as to where the ceremo- 
nies of reception should take place. The Japanese 
wished the commodore to withdraw to a point down 
the bay, some twenty miles below Uragawa. He, on 
the contrary, insisted on going to Yedo, and sent 
boats up to within four miles of that city to sound 
the channel. Finally the village of Yokohama, oppo- 
site the anchorage of the ships, was fixed upon. 

On the 8th of March the first reception took place, 
great formality being observed, though this time 
light refreshments were offered. Two audiences a 
week were subsequently held, at one of which, on 
March 13, the American presents were delivered. 
They consisted of cloths, agricultural implements, fire- 
arms, and other articles, the most valuable being a 
small locomotive, tender, and car, which were set in 
motion on a circular track. A mile of telegraph 
wire was also set up and operated, this interesting 
the Japanese more than anything else. They had 
the art, however, of concealing their feelings, and 



THE OPENING OF JAPAN. 131 

took rare to show no wonder at anything dis- 
played. 

In the letter of reply from the shogun it was con- 
ceded that the demands in relation to shipwrecked 
sailors, coal, provisions, water, etc., were just, and 
there was shown a willingness to add a new harbor 
to that of Nagasaki, but five years' delay in its open- 
ing were asked. To this the commodore would not 
accede, nor would he consent to be bound by the 
restrictions placed on the Dutch and Chinese. He 
demanded three harbors, one each in Hondo, Tezo, 
and the Loochoo Islands, but finally agreed to accept 
two, the port of Simoda in Hondo and that of Hako- 
date in Yezo. An agreement being at length reached, 
three copies of the treaty were exchanged, and this 
was followed by an entertainment on the fleet to the 
Japanese officials, in which they did full justice to 
American fare, and seemed to be particularly fond 
of champagne. One of them became so merry and 
familiar under the influence of this beverage that he 
vigorously embraced the commodore, who bore the 
infliction with good-humored patience. 

At the new treaty ports the restrictions which 
had been thrown around the Dutch at Nagasaki 
were removed, citizens of the United States being 
free to go where they pleased within a limit of sev- 
eral miles around the towns. 

The success of the Americans in this negotiation 
stimulated the other maritime nations, and in the 
same year a British fleet visited Nagasaki and ob- 
tained commercial concessions. In 1858 the treaties 
were extended, the port of Yokohama replacing that 



132 HISTORICAL TALES. 

of Simoda, and the treaty ports being opened to 
American, British, French, and Dutch traders. Sub- 
sequently the same privileges were granted to the 
other commercial nations, the country was made free 
to travellers, and the long-continued isolation of 
Japan was completely broken down. A brief ex- 
perience of the advantages of commerce and foreign 
intercourse convinced the quick-witted islanders of 
the folly of their ancient isolation, and they threw 
open their country without restriction to all the 
good the world had to offer and to the fullest inflow 
of modern ideas. 



33 
O 
> 

a 




THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS 
OWN AGAIN. 

The visit of Commodore Perry to Japan and the 
signing of a treaty of commerce with the United 
States formed a great turning-point in the history 
of that ancient empire. Through its influence the 
mikado came to his own again, after being for seven 
centuries virtually the vassal of the shogun. So 
long had he vanished from sight that the people 
looked upon him as a far-off spiritual dignitary, and 
had forgotten that he was once the supreme lord of 
the land. During all this time the imperial court 
had been kept up, with its prime minister, its officials 
and nobles, — with everything except authority. The 
court dignitaries ranked, in their own conceit and 
their ancient titles, far above the shogun and daimios, 
the military leaders, but they were like so many 
actors on the stage, playing at power. The shogun, 
with the power at his command, might have made 
himself the supreme dignitary, but it was easier to 
let the sleepy court at Kioto alone, leaving them the 
shadow of that power of which the substance was 
in the shogun's hands. 

Yet there was always a risk in this. The sleeping 
emperor might at any time awake, call the people 
and the army to his aid, and break through the web 
that the great spider of military rule had woven 

133 



134 HISTORICAL TALES. 

about his court. Some great event might stir Japan 
to its depths and cause a vital change in the state 
of affairs. Such an event came in the visit of the 
American fleet and the signing of a treaty of com- 
merce and intercourse by the Tai Kun, or great sov- 
ereign of Japan, as the shogun signed himself. 

For two centuries and a half Japan had been at 
peace. For nearly that length of time foreigners 
had been forbidden to set foot on its soil. They 
were looked upon as barbarians, " foreign devils" the 
islanders called them, the trouble they had caused 
long before was not forgotten, and throughout the 
island empire they were hated or despised. 

The visit of the American fleet was, therefore, 
sure to send a stir of deep feeling throughout the 
land. During this period of excitement the shogun 
died, and the power was seized by Ii, the regent, a 
daring and able man, who chose as shogun a boy 
twelve years old, imprisoned, exiled, or beheaded all 
who opposed him, and was suspected of an intention 
to depose the mikado and set up a boy emperor in 
his place. 

All this aroused new excitement in Japan. But 
the opposition to these acts of the regent would not 
have grown to revolution had no more been done. 
The explosion came when Ii signed a treaty with 
the foreigners, a right which belonged only to the 
mikado, and sent word to Kioto that the exigency 
of the occasion had forced him to take this action. 

The feeling that followed was intense. The 
country became divided into two parties, that of the 
mikado, which opposed the foreigners, and that of 



THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN. 135 

the shogun, which favored them. " Honor the 
mikado and expel the barbarians," became the pa- 
triot watchword, and in all directions excited parti- 
sans roamed the land, vowing that they would kill 
the regent and his new friends and that they were 
ready to die for the true emperor. Their fury bore 
fruit. Ii was assassinated. At the moment when a 
strong hand was most needed, that of the regent was 
removed. And as the feeling of bitterness against 
the foreigners grew, the influence of the shogun de- 
clined. The youthful dignitary was obliged by public 
opinion to visit Kioto and do homage to the mikado, 
an ancient ceremony which had not been performed 
for two hundred and thirty years, and whose former 
existence had almost been forgotten. 

This was followed by a still more vital act. Un- 
der orders from the mikado, the shogun appointed 
the prince of Echizen premier of the empire. The 
prince at once took a remarkable step. For over 
two centuries the daimios had been forced to reside 
in Yedo. With a word he abolished this custom, 
and like wild birds the feudal lords flew away. The 
cage which had held them so long was open, and 
they winged their way to their distant nests. This 
act was fatal to the glory of Yedo and the power 
of its sovereign lord. In the words of the native 
chronicler, " the prestige of the Tokugawa family, 
which had endured for three hundred years, which 
had been as much more brilliant than Kamakura in 
the age of Yoritomo as the moon is more brilliant 
than the stars, which for more than two hundred 
and seventy years had forced the daimios to take 



136 HISTORICAL TALES. 

their turn of duty in Yedo, and which had, day 
and night, eighty thousand vassals at its command, 
fell to ruin in the space of a single day." 

In truth, the revolution was largely completed by 
this signal act. Many of the daimios and their re- 
tainers, let loose from their prison, deserted the cause 
of their recent lord. Their place of assemblage was 
now at Kioto, which became once more populous 
and bustling. They strengthened the imperial court 
with gold and pledged to it their devotion. Pam- 
phlets were issued, some claiming that the clans 
owed allegiance to the shogun, others that the 
mikado was the true and only emperor. 

The first warlike step in support of the new ideas 
was taken in 1863, by the clan of Choshiu, which 
erected batteries at Shimonoseki, refused to disarm 
at the shogun's order, and fired on foreign vessels. 
This brought about a bombardment, in the following 
year, by the ships of four foreign nations, the most 
important result of which was to teach the Japanese 
the strength of the powers against which they had 
arrayed themselves. 

Meanwhile the men of Choshiu, the declared ad- 
herents of the mikado, urged him to make a journey 
to Yamato, and thus show to his people that he was 
ready to take the field in person against the bar- 
barians. This suggestion was at first received with 
favor, but suddenly the Choshiu envoys and their 
friends were arrested, the palace was closely guarded, 
and all members or retainers of the clan were for- 
bidden to enter the capital, an order which placed 
them in the position of outlaws. The party of the 



THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN. 137 

shogun had made the mikado believe that the clan 
was plotting to seize his person and through him to 
control the empire. 

This act of violence led to civil war. In August, 
1864, the capital was attacked by a body of thirteen 
hundred men of the Choshiu and other disaffected 
clans. It was defended by the adherents of the sho- 
gun, now the supporters of the mikado. For two 
days the battle raged, and at the end of that time 
a great part of the city was a heap of ashes, some 
thirty thousand edifices being destroyed by the 
flames. "The Blossom Capital became a scorched 
desert." The Choshiu were defeated, but Kioto lay 
in ruins. A Japanese city is like a house of card- 
board, easily destroyed, and almost as easily rebuilt. 

This conflict was followed by a march in force 
upon Choshiu to punish its rebellious people. The 
expedition was not a popular one. Some powerful 
feudal lords refused to join it. Of those mustered into 
the ranks many became conveniently sick, and those 
who marched were disorganized and without heart 
for the fight. Choshiu, on the contrary, was well 
prepared. The clansmen, who had long been in con- 
tact with the Dutch, had thrown aside the native 
weapons, were drilled in European tactics, and were 
well armed with rifles and artillery. The result was, 
after a three months' campaign, the complete defeat 
of the invading army, and an almost fatal blow to the 
prestige of the shogun. This defeat was immediately 
followed by the death of the young shogun, who had 
been worn out by the intense anxiety of his period 
of rule. 



138 HISTORICAL TALES. 

He was succeeded by the last of the shoguns, 
Keiki, appointed head of the Tokugawa family in 
October, 1866, and shogun in January, 1867. This 
position he had frequently declined. He was far too 
weak and fickle a man to hold it at such a time. 
He was popular at court because of his opposition 
to the admission of the foreigners, but he was by no 
means the man to hold the reins of government at 
that perilous juncture of affairs. 

In fact, he had hardly accepted the office when a 
vigorous pressure was brought upon him to resign, in 
which a number of princes and powerful noblemen 
took part. It was their purpose to restore the ancient 
government of the realm. Keiki yielded, and in 
November, 1867, resigned his high office of Sei-i Tai 
Shogun. During this critical interval the mikado 
had died, and a new youthful emperor had been 
raised to the throne. 

But the imperial power was not so easily to be re- 
stored, after its many centuries of abrogation. The 
Aidzu, the most loyal of all the clans to the shogun, 
and the leaders in the war against the Choshiu, 
guarded the palace gates, and for the time being 
were masters of the situation. Meanwhile the party 
of the mikado was not idle. Gradually small parties 
of soldiers were sent by them to the capital, and a 
quiet influence was brought to bear to induce the 
court to take advantage of the opportunity and by 
a bold movement abolish the office of shogun and 
declare the young emperor the sole sovereign of the 
realm. 

This coup-d'etat was effected January 3, 1868. On 



THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN. 139 

that day the introduced troops suddenly took posses- 
sion of the palace gates, the nobles who surrounded 
the emperor were dismissed and replaced by others 
favorable to the movement, and an edict was issued 
in the name of the mikado declaring the office of 
shogun abolished, and that the sole government of 
the empire lay in the hands of the mikado and his 
court. New offices were established and new officials 
chosen to fill them, the clan of Choshiu was relieved 
from the ban of rebellion and honored as the sup- 
porter of the imperial power, and a completely new 
government was organized. 

This decisive action led to civil war. The ad- 
herents of the Tokugawa clan, in high indignation 
at this revolutionary act, left the capital, Keiki, who 
now sought to seize his power again, at their head. 
On the 27th of February he marched upon Kioto 
with an army of ten thousand, or, as some say, thirty 
thousand, men. The two roads leading to the capital 
had been barricaded, and were defended by two 
thousand men, armed with artillery. 

A fierce battle followed, lasting for three days. 
Greatly as the defenders of the barriers were out- 
numbered, their defences and artillery, with their 
European discipline, gave them the victory. The 
shogun was defeated, and fled with his army to 
Ozaka, the castle of which was captured and burned, 
while he took refuge on an American vessel in the 
harbor. Making his way thence to Yedo in one of 
his own ships, he shut himself up in his palace, 
once more with the purpose of withdrawing from 
the struggle. 



140 HISTORICAL TALES. 

His retainers and many of the daimios and clans 
urged him to continue the war, declaring that, with 
the large army and abundant supplies at his com- 
mand, and the powerful fleet under his control, they 
could restore him to the position he had lost. But 
Keiki had had enough of war, and could not bear 
the idea of being a rebel against his liege lord. 
Declaring that he would never take up arms against 
the mikado, he withdrew from the struggle to pri- 
vate life. 

In the mean time the victorious forces of the 
south had reached the suburbs of Tedo, and were 
threatening to apply the torch to that tinder-box of 
a city unless it were immediately surrendered. Their 
commander, being advised of the purpose of the sho- 
gun, promised to spare the city, but assailed and 
burned the magnificent temple of Uyeno, in which 
the rebels still in arms had taken refuge. For a 
year longer the war went on, victory everywhere 
favoring the imperial army. By the 1st of July, 
1869, hostilities were at an end, and the mikado was 
the sole lord of the realm. 

Thus ended a military domination that had con- 
tinued for seven hundred years. In 1167, Kiyomori 
had made himself military lord of the empire. In 
1869, Mutsuhito, the one hundred and twenty-third 
mikado in lineal descent, resumed the imperial power 
which had so long been lost. Unlike China, over 
which so many dynasties have ruled, Japan has been 
governed by a single dynasty, according to the native 
records, for more than twenty-five hundred years. 

The fall of the shogun was followed by the fall of 



THE MIKADO COMES TO HIS OWN AGAIN. 141 

feudalism. The emperor, for the first time for many- 
centuries, came from behind his screen and showed 
himself openly to his people. Yedo was made the 
eastern capital of the realm, its name being changed 
to Tokio. Hither, in September, 1871, the daimios 
were once more summoned, and the order was issued 
that they should give up their strongholds and feudal 
retainers and retire to private life. They obeyed. 
Eesistance would have been in vain. Thus fell an- 
other ancient institution, eight centuries old. The 
revolution was at an end. The shogunate and the 
feudal system had fallen, to rise no more. A single 
absolute lord ruled over Japan. 

As regards the cry of " expel the barbarians," 
which had first given rise to hostilities, it gradually 
died away as the revolution continued. The strength 
of the foreign fleets, the advantages of foreign com- 
merce, the conception which could not be avoided 
that, instead of being barbarians, these aliens held 
all the high prizes of civilization and had a thousand 
important lessons to teach, caused a complete change 
of mind among the intelligent Japanese, and they 
quickly began to welcome those whom they had 
hitherto inveterately opposed, and to change their 
institutions to accord with those of the Western 
world. 



HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA 
AROSE AND GREW. 

From the history of Japan we now turn to that 
of China, a far older and more extensive kingdom, 
so old, indeed, that it has now grown decrepit, while 
Japan seems still in the glow of vigorous youth. 
But, as our tales will show, there was a long period 
in the past during which China was full of youthful 
energy and activity, and there may be a time in the 
future when a new youth will come to that hoary 
kingdom, the most venerable of any existing upon 
the face of the earth. 

Who the Chinese originally were, whence they 
came, how long they have dwelt in their present 
realm, are questions easier to ask than to answer. 
Their history does not reach back to their origin, ex- 
cept in vague and doubtful outlines. The time was 
when that great territory known as China was the 
home of aboriginal tribes, and the first historical 
sketch given us of the Chinese represents them 
as a little horde of wanderers, destitute of houses, 
clothing, and fire, living on the spoils of the chase, 
and on roots and insects in times of scarcity. 

These people were not sons of the soil. They 
came from some far-off region. Some think that 
their original home lay in the country to the south- 
east of the Caspian, while later theorists seek to 
142 



HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW. 143 

trace their origin in Babylonia, as an offshoot of the 
Mongolian people to whom that land owed its early 
language and culture. From some such place the 
primitive Chinese made their way by slow stages to 
the east, probably crossing the head-waters of the 
Oxus and journeying along the southern slopes of 
the Tian-Shan Mountains. 

All this is conjecture, but we touch firmer soil 
when we trace them to the upper course of the 
Hoang-ho, or Yellow Eiver, whose stream they fol- 
lowed eastward until they reached the fertile plains 
of the district now known as Shan-se. Here the 
immigrants settled in small colonies, and put in 
practice those habits of settled labor which they 
seem to have brought with them from afar. Yet 
there is reason to believe that they had at one time 
been nomads, belonging to the herding rather than 
to the agricultural races of the earth. Many of the 
common words in their language are partly made 
up of the characters for sheep and cattle, and the 
Chinese house so resembles the Tartar tent in out- 
line that it is said that the soldiers of Genghis Khan, 
on taking a city, at once pulled down the walls of 
the houses and left the roof supported by its wooden 
columns as an excellent substitute for a tent. 

However that be, the new-comers seem to have 
quickly become farmers, growing grain for food and 
flax for their garments. The culture of the silk- 
worm was early known, trade was developed, and 
fairs were held. There was intellectual culture also. 
They knew something of astronomy, and probably 
possessed the art of hieroglyphic writing, — which, 



144 HISTORICAL TALES. 

if they came from Babylonia, they may well have 
brought with them. 

This took place five thousand years or more ago, 
and for a long time the history of the Chinese was 
that of the conquest of the native tribes. They 
name themselves the " black-haired race," but their 
foes are classed as "fiery dogs" in the north, "great 
bowmen" in the east, " mounted warriors" in the 
west, and "ungovernable vermin" in the south. 
Against these savages war was probably long con- 
tinued, the invaders gradually widening their area, 
founding new states, driving back the natives into 
the mountains and deserts, and finally so nearly 
annihilating them that only a small remnant re- 
mained. The descendants of these, the Meaou-tsze, 
mountain-dwellers, still remain hostile to China, and 
hold their own in the mountain strongholds against 
its armies. 

Such was the China with which history opens. 
Ancient Chinese writers amuse themselves with a 
period of millions of years in which venerable dy- 
nasties reigned, serving to fill up the vast gap made 
by their imagination in the period before written 
history began. And when history does appear it is 
not easy to tell how much of it is fact and how 
much fiction. The first ruler named, Yew-chaou She 
(the Nest-having), was the chief who induced the 
wanderers to settle within the bend of the Yellow 
Eiver and make huts of boughs. After him came 
Suy-jin She (the Fire-maker), who discovered the 
art of producing fire by the friction of two pieces 
of dry wood, also how to count and register time by 



HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW. 145 

means of knots tied in cords. Fuh-he discovered 
iron by accident, and reigned one hundred and fifteen 
years. Chin-nung invented the plough, and in one 
day discovered seventy poisonous plants and as many 
antidotes. Under Hoang-ti the calendar was regu- 
lated, roads were constructed, vessels were built, 
and the title of Ti, or Emperor, was first assumed. 
Hoang-ti means " Yellow Emperor," and became a 
favorite name with the founders of later dynasties. 
His wife, Se-ling-she, was the first to unravel silk 
from cocoons and weave it into cloth. Several 
others followed, all partly or wholly fabulous, until 
Yao ascended the throne in 2356 B.C. With this 
emperor history begins to throw off some little of 
the mist of legend and mythology. 

With the reign of Yao the historical work of Con- 
fucius begins. His narrative is not trustworthy 
history, but it is not pure fable. Yao and Shun, his 
successor, are two of the notable characters in the 
ancient annals of China. Under them virtue reigned 
supreme, crime was unknown, and the empire grew 
in extent and prosperity. The greatest difficulty 
with which they had to contend was the overflow 
of the Hoang-ho, an unruly stream, which from that 
day to this has from time to time swept away its 
banks and drowned its millions. Yu, the next em- 
peror, drained off the waters of the mighty flood, — 
which some have thought the same as the deluge 
of Noah. This work occupied him for nine years. 
His last notable act was to denounce the inventor 
of an intoxicating drink made from rice, from which 
he predicted untold misery to the people. 

10 



146 HISTORICAL TALES. 

All this comes to us from the Confucian " Book of 
History," which goes on with questionable stories 
of many later emperors. They were not all good 
and wise, like most of those named. Some of the 
descendants of Yu became tyrants and pleasure- 
seekers, their palaces the seats of scenes of cruelty 
and debauchery surpassing the deeds of Nero. Two 
emperors in particular, Kee and Chow, are held up 
as monsters of wickedness and examples of disso- 
luteness beyond comparison. The last, under the in- 
fluence of a woman named Ta-Ke, became a frightful 
example of sensuality and cruelty. Among the inven- 
tions of Ta-Ke was a cylinder of polished brass, along 
which her victims were forced to walk over a bed of 
fire below, she laughing in great glee if they slipped 
and fell into the flames. In fact, Chinese invention 
exhausts itself in describing the crimes and immoral 
doings of this abominable pair, which, fortunately, 
we are not obliged to believe. 

Of the later emperors, Mou Wang, who came to 
the throne about 1000 B.C., was famed as a builder 
of palaces and public works, and was the first of the 
emperors to come into conflict with the Tartars of 
the Mongolian plains, who afterwards gave China 
such endless trouble. He travelled into regions 
before unknown, and brought a new breed of horses 
into China, which, fed on " dragon grass," were able 
to travel one thousand li in a day. As this distance 
is nearly four hundred miles, it would be well for 
modern horsemen if some of that dragon grass could 
yet be fouml. 

It is not worth while going on with the story of 



HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW. 147 

these early monarchs, of whom all we know is so 
brief and unimportant as not to be worth the telling, 
while little of it is safe to believe. In the " burning 
of the books," which took place later, most of the 
ancient history disappeared, while the " Book of 
History" of Confucius, which professes to have 
taken from the earlier books all that was worth the 
telling, is too meagre and unimportant in its story 
to be of much vqlue. 

Yet, if we can believe all we are told, the historians 
of China were at any time ready to become martyrs 
in the cause of truth, and gave the story of the dif- 
ferent reigns with singular fidelity and intrepidity. 
Mailla relates the following incident : " In the reign 
of the emperor Ling Wang of the Chow dynasty, 
548 B.C., Chang Kong, Prince of Tsi, became enam- 
oured of the wife of Tsouichow, a general, who 
resented the affront and killed the prince. The 
historians attached to the household of the prince 
recorded the facts, and named Tsouichow as the 
murderer. On learning this the general caused the 
principal historian to be arrested and slain, and 
appointed another in his place. But as soon as the 
new historian entered upon his office he recorded the 
exact facts of the whole occurrence, including the 
death of his predecessor and the cause of his death. 
Tsouichow was so much enraged at this that he 
ordered all the members of the Tribunal of History 
to be executed. But at once the whole literary class 
in the principality of Tsi set to work exposing and 
denouncing the conduct of Tsouichow, who soon 
perceived that his wiser plan would be to reconstitute 



148 HISTORICAL TALES. 

the Tribunal and to allow it to follow its own de- 
vices." 

Other stories to the same effect are told. They 
are very likely exaggerated, but there is good reason 
to believe that the literary class of China were obsti- 
nate to the verge of martyrdom in maintaining the 
facts and traditions of the past, and that death sig- 
nified to them less than dishonor. We shall see a 
striking instance of this in the story of Hoang-ti, the 
burner of the books. 

In the period to which we have now come, China 
was far from being the great empire it is to-day. On 
the south it did not extend beyond the great river 
Yangtsze Kiang, all the region to the south being 
still held by the native tribes. On the north the 
Tartar tribes occupied the steppes. At the fall of 
the Chow dynasty, in 255 B.C., the empire extended 
through five degrees of latitude and thirteen of 
longitude, covering but a small fraction of its present 
area. 

And of this region only a minor portion could 
fairly be claimed as imperial soil. The bulk of it 
was held by feudal princes, whose ancestors had 
probably conquered their domains ages before, and 
some of whom held themselves equal to the em- 
peror in power and pride. They acknowledged but 
slight allegiance to the imperial government, and for 
centuries the country was distracted by internal 
warfare, until the great Hoang-ti, whose story we 
have yet to tell, overthrew feudalism, and for the 
first time united all China into a single empire. 

The period that we have so rapidly run over 



HOW THE EMPIRE OF CHINA AROSE AND GREW. 149 

embraces no less than two thousand years of partly 
authentic history, and a thousand or more years of 
fabulous annals, during which China steadily grew, 
though of what we know concerning it there is little 
in which any absolute trust can be placed. Yet it 
was in this period that China made its greatest 
progress in literature and religious reform, and that 
its great lawgivers appeared. With this phase of its 
history we shall deal in the succeeding tale. 



CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE 
SAGE. 

In the later years of the Chow dynasty appeared 
the two greatest thinkers that China ever produced, 
Laoutse, the first and ablest philosopher of his race, 
and Confucius, a practical thinker and reformer who 
has had few equals in the world. Of Laoutse we 
know little. Born 604 B.C., in humble life, he lived 
in retirement, and when more than a hundred years 
old began a journey to the west and vanished from 
history. To the guardian of the pass through which 
he sought the western regions he gave a book which 
contained the thoughts of his life. This forms the 
Bible of the Taouistic religion, which still has a large 
following in China. 

Confucius, or Kong-foo-tse, born 551 B.C., was as 
practical in intellect as Laoutse was mystical, and 
has exerted an extraordinary influence upon the 
Chinese race. For this reason it seems important to 
give some account of his career. 

The story of his life exists in some detail, and may 
be given in epitome. As a child he was distinguished 
for his respect to older people, his gentleness, mo- 
desty, and quickness of intellect. At nineteen he 
married and was made a mandarin, being appointed 
superintendent of the markets, and afterwards placed 
in charge of the public fields, the sheep and cattle. 
150 



CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE. 151 

His industry was remarkable, and so great were his 
improvements in agriculture that the whole face of 
the country changed, and plenty succeeded pov- 
erty. 

At twenty -two he became a public teacher, and 
at thirty began the study of music, making such re- 
markable progress in this art that from the study 
of one piece he was able to describe the person of 
the composer, even to his features and the expression 
of his eyes. His teacher now gave him up. The 
pupil had passed infinitely beyond his reach. At 
the next important epoch in the life of Confucius 
(499 B.C.) he had become one of the chief ministers 
of the king of Loo. This potentate fell into a dis- 
pute with the rival king of Tsi, and an interview 
between the two kings took place, in which a scheme 
of treachery devised by the king of Tsi was baffled 
by the vigilance and courage of the learned minister 
of Loo. 

But, the high precepts of Confucius proving too 
exalted for the feeble virtue of his kingly employer, 
the philosopher soon left his service, and entered 
upon a period of travel and study, teaching the 
people as he went, and constantly attended by a 
number of disciples. His mode of illustrating his 
precepts is indicated in an interesting anecdote. 
" As he was journeying, one day he saw a woman 
weeping and wailing by a grave. Confucius inquired 
the cause of her grief. ' You weep as if you had 
experienced sorrow upon sorrow,' said one of the 
attendants of the sage. The woman answered, ' It 
is so: my husband's father was killed here by a 



152 HISTORICAL TALES. 

tiger, and my husband also ; and now my son has 
met the same fate.' ' Why do you not leave the 
place?' asked Confucius. On her replying, 'There 
is here no oppressive government,' he turned to his 
disciples and said, 'My children, remember this, — 
oppressive government is more cruel than a tiger.' " 

On another of their journeys they ran out of food 
and one of the disciples, faint with hunger, asked the 
sage, " Must the superior man indeed suffer in this 
way ?" " The superior man may have to suffer want," 
answered Confucius, " but the mean man, when he is 
in want, gives way to unbridled license." The last 
five years of his life were spent in Loo, his native 
state, in teaching and in finishing the works he had 
long been writing. 

Confucius was no philosopher in the ordinary 
sense. He was a moral teacher, but devised no 
system of religion, telling his disciples that the 
demands of this world were quite enough to engage 
the thoughts of men, and that the future might be 
left to provide for itself. He cared nothing about 
science and studied none of the laws of nature, but 
devoted himself to the teaching of the principles of 
conduct, with a wisdom and a practical common 
sense that have never been surpassed. 

Of all the great men who have lived upon the 
earth, conquerors, writers, inventors, and others, 
none have gained so wide a renown as this quiet 
Chinese moral teacher, whose fame has reached the 
ears of more millions of mankind than that of any 
other man who has ever lived. To-day his descend- 
ants form the only hereditary nobility in China, with 



CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE. 153 

the exception of those of his great disciple Mencius, 
who proved a worthy successor to the sage. 

It is to Confucius that we owe nearly all we possess 
of the early literature of China. Of what are known 
as the " Five Classics," four are by his hand. The 
" Book of Changes," the oldest classic, was written 
by a mystic named Wan Wang, who lived about 1150 
B.C. It is highly revered, but no one pretends to 
understand it. The works of Confucius include the 
" Book of History," the " Book of Odes," the " Book 
of Kites," and the " Spring and Autumn Annals," all 
of them highly esteemed in China for the knowledge 
they give of ancient days and ways. 

The records of the early dynasties kept at the 
imperial court were closely studied by Confucius, 
who selected from them all that he thought worth 
preserving. This he compiled into the Shoo King, or 
"Book of History." The contents of this work we 
have condensed in the preceding tale. It consists 
mainly of conversations between the kings and their 
ministers, in which the principles of the patriarchal 
Chinese government form the leading theme. " Do 
not be ashamed of mistakes, and thus make them 
crimes," says one of these practical ministers. 

The Le-ke, or " Book of Kites," compiled from a 
very ancient work, lays down exact rules of life for 
Chinamen, which are still minutely obeyed. The 
Chun Tsew, or " Spring and Autumn Annals," em- 
braces a mere statement of events which occurred 
in the kingdom of Loo, and contains very little of 
historical and less of any other value. The " Book 
of Odes," on the contrary, possesses a great literary 



154 HISTORICAL TALES. 

value, in preserving for us the poetic remains of 
ancient China. 

Literature in that country, as elsewhere, seems to 
have begun with poetry, and of the songs and bal- 
lads of the early period official collections of con- 
siderable value were made. Not only at the impe- 
rial court, but at those of the feudal lords, there 
were literati whose duty it was to collect the songs 
of the people and diligently to preserve the histori- 
cal records of the empire. From the latter Con- 
fucius compiled two of the books already named. 
There also fell into his hands an official collection of 
poems containing some three thousand pieces. These 
the sage carefully edited, selecting such of them as 
" would be serviceable for the inculcation of pro- 
priety and righteousness." These poems, three hun- 
dred and eleven in number, constitute the She King, 
or "Book of Odes," forming a remarkable collec- 
tion of primitive verses which breathe the spirit of 
peace and simple life, broken by few sounds of war 
or revelry, but yielding many traces of family affec- 
tion, peaceful repose, and religious feeling. 

These are not the only remains of the ancient Chi- 
nese literature. There are four more books, which, 
with the five named, make up the " Nine Classics." 
These were written by the pupils and disciples of 
Confucius, the most important being the Mang tsze, 
or " Works of Mencius." They are records of the 
sayings and doings of the two sages Confucius and 
Mencius, whose remarkable precepts, like those of 
the Greek sage Socrates, would have been lost to the 
world but for the loving diligence of their disciples. 



CONFUCIUS, THE CHINESE SAGE. 155 

All this is not history in the ordinary sense. But 
the men described, and particularly Confucius, have 
had so potent an influence upon all that relates to 
Chinese life and history, that some brief account of 
them and their doings seemed indispensable to our 
work. 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE 
EMPIRE. 

In the year 246 b.c. came to the throne of China 
the most famous of all the monarchs of that ancient 
empire, the celebrated Hoangti, — Tsin Chi Hoang-ti, 
or " first sovereign emperor of the Tsins," to give 
him his full title. Various stories are told by Chinese 
historians of the origin of this great monarch, they 
denying that he was of royal blood. They say that 
he was the son of a woman slave who had been 
bought by the emperor, and that the boy's real father 
was a merchant, her former master. This story, 
whether true or false, gave the young emperor much 
trouble in later years. His mother, after he came to 
the throne, grew so dissipated that he was forced to 
punish her lover and banish her. And the merchant, 
his reputed father, being given a place at court, be- 
came eager for a higher position, and sought to in- 
fluence the emperor by hints and whisperings of the 
secret hold he possessed over him. Hoangti was not 
the man to be dealt with in such a fashion, and the 
intriguing merchant, finding a storm of vengeance 
coming, poisoned himself to escape a worse fate. 

Such are the stories told of the origin of the famous 

emperor. They may not be true, for the historians 

hated him, for reasons yet to be given, and made the 

most of anything they could say against him. All 

156 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 157 

we are sure of is that he ascended the throne at 
the youthful age of thirteen, and even at that age 
quickly made his influence widely felt. What lay 
before him was practically the conquest of China, 
whose great feudal lords were virtually independent 
of the throne, and had, not long before, overwhelmed 
the imperial armies. 

Fortunately for the young emperor, the great 
princes, having no fear of a boy, either disbanded 
their forces or quarrelled among themselves, two 
of the most powerful of them declaring war upon 
each other. Taking advantage of these dissensions, 
Hoangti gained, step by step, the desired control 
of his foes. Ouki, a great general in the interest 
of the princes, was disgraced by the aid of bribery 
and falsehood, several of the strong cities of the 
princes were seized, and when they entered the field 
against the emperor their armies, no longer led by 
the able Ouki, were easily defeated. Thus steadily 
the power of the youthful monarch increased and 
that of his opponents fell away, the dismembered 
. empire of China slowly growing under his rule into 
a coherent whole. 

Meanwhile war arose with foreign enemies, who 
appeared on the western and northern boundaries 
of the empire. In this quarter the Tartar tribes of 
the desert had long been troublesome, and now a 
great combination of these warlike nomads, known 
as the Heung-nou, — perhaps the same as the Huns 
who afterwards devastated Europe, — broke into the 
defenceless border provinces, plundering and slaugh- 
tering wherever they appeared. Against this danger- 



158 HISTORICAL TALES. 

ous enemy the emperor manifested the same energy 
that he had done against his domestic foes. Collect- 
ing a great army, three hundred thousand strong, he 
marched into their country and overthrew them in a 
series of signal victories. In the end those in the 
vicinity of China were exterminated, and the others 
driven to take refuge in the mountains of Mongolia. 

This success was followed by a remarkable per- 
formance, one of the most stupendous in the history 
of the world. Finding that several of the northern 
states of the empire were building lines of fortifi- 
cation along their northern frontiers for defence 
against their Tartar enemies, the emperor conceived 
the extraordinary project of building a gigantic wall 
along the whole northern boundary of China, a great 
bulwark to extend from the ocean on the east to 
the interior extremity of the modern province of 
Kan-suK on the west. This work was begun under 
the direct supervision of the emperor in 214 b.c, and 
prosecuted with the sleepless energy for which he 
had made himself famous. Tireless as he was, how- 
ever, the task was too great for one man to perform, 
and it was not completed until after his death. 

This extraordinary work, perhaps the greatest 
ever undertaken by the hand of man, extends over a 
length of twelve hundred and fifty-five miles, the wall 
itself, if measured throughout its sinuous extent, be- 
ing fully fifteen hundred miles in length. Over this 
vast reach of mountain and plain it is carried, regard- 
less of hill or vale, but " scaling the precipices and 
topping the craggy hills of the country." It is not a 
solid mass, but is composed of two retaining walls of 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 159 

brick, built upon granite foundations, while the space 
between them is filled with earth and stones. It is 
about twenty-five feet wide at base and fifteen at 
top, and varies from fifteen to thirty feet in height, 
with frequent towers rising above its general level. 
At the top a pavement of bricks — now overgrown 
with grass — forms a surface finish to the work. 

How many thousands or hundreds of thousands 
of the industrious laborers of China spent their lives 
upon this stupendous work history does not tell. It 
stands as a striking monument of the magnificent 
conceptions of Hoangti, and of the patient industry 
of his subjects, beside which the building of the 
great pyramid of Egypt sinks into insignificance. 
Yet, as history has abundantly proved, it was a 
waste of labor so far as answering its purpose was 
concerned. In the hands of a strong emperor like 
Hoangti it might well defy the Tartar foe. In the 
hands of many of his weak successors it proved of 
no avail, the hordes of the desert swarming like 
ants over its undefended reaches, and pouring upon 
the feeble country that sought defence in walls, not 
in men. 

While this vast building operation was going on, 
Hoangti had his hands so full with internal wars 
that he adopted the custom of sitting on his throne 
with a naked sword in his hand, significant of his 
unceasing alertness against his foes. Not until his 
reign was near its end was he able to return this 
emblem of war to its scabbard and enjoy for a few 
years the peace he had so ably won. 

No sooner had the great emperor finished his 



160 HISTORICAL TALES. 

campaign of victory against the Heung-nou Tartars 
than he found himself confronted by enemies at home, 
the adherents of the remaining feudal princes whose 
independent power was threatened. The first with 
whom he came in contact was the powerful prince 
of Chow, several of whose cities he captured, the 
neighboring prince of Han being so terrified by this 
success that he surrendered without a contest. In 
accordance with Hoangti's method, the prince was 
forced to yield his power and retire to private life 
in the dominions of the conqueror. 

Chow still held out, under an able general, Limou, 
who defied the emperor and defeated his armies. 
Hoangti, finding himself opposed by an abler man 
than any he had under his command, employed 
against him the same secret arts by which he had 
before disposed of the valiant Ouki. A courtier was 
bribed to malign the absent general and poison the 
mind of the prince against the faithful commander 
of his forces. The intrigue was successful, Limou 
was recalled from his command, and on his refusing 
to obey was assassinated by order of the prince. 

Hoangti had gained his end, and his adversary 
soon paid dearly for his lack of wisdom and justice. 
His dominions were overrun, his capital, Hantan, 
was taken and sacked, and he and his family became 
prisoners to one who was not noted for mercy to 
his foes. The large province of Chow was added to 
the empire, which was now growing with surprising 
rapidity. 

This enemy disposed of, Hoangti had another with 
whom to deal. At his court resided Prince Tan, heir 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 161 

of the ruler of Yen. Whether out of settled policy 
or from whim, the emperor insulted this visitor so 
flagrantly that he fled the court, burning for revenge. 
As the most direct way of obtaining this, he hired 
an assassin to murder Hoangti, inducing him to 
accept the task by promising him the title of "Lib- 
erator of the Empire." The plot was nearly success- 
ful. Finding it very difficult to obtain an audience 
with the emperor, Kinkou, the assassin, succeeded 
in an extraordinary way, by inducing Fanyuki, a 
proscribed rebel, to commit suicide. In some unex- 
plained way Kinkou made use of this desperate act 
to obtain the desired audience. Only the alertness 
of the emperor now saved him from death. His 
quick eye caught the attempt of the assassin to draw 
his poniard, and at once, with a sweeping blow of 
his sabre, he severed his leg from his body, hurling 
him bleeding and helpless to the floor. 

Hoangti' s retribution did not end with the death 
of the assassin. Learning that Prince Tan was the 
real culprit, he gave orders for the instant invasion 
of Yen, — a purpose which perhaps he had in view 
in his insult to the prince. The ruler of that state, 
to avert the emperor's wrath, sent him the head of 
Tan, whom he had ordered to execution. But as 
the army continued to advance, he fled into the wilds 
of Lea-vu-tung, abandoning his territory to the in- 
vader. In the same year the kingdom of Wei was 
invaded, its capital taken, and its ruler sent to the 
Chinese capital for execution. 

Only one of the great principalities now remained, 
that of Choo, but it was more formidable than any 

11 



162 HISTORICAL TALES. 

of those yet assailed. Great preparations and a 
large army were needed for this enterprise, and the 
emperor asked his generals how many men would be 
required for the task of conquest. 

" Two hundred thousand will be abundant," said 
Lisin ; " I will promise you the best results with that 
number of men." 

"What have you to say?" asked the emperor of 
Wang Tsein, his oldest and most experienced com- 
mander. 

" Six hundred thousand will be needed," said the 
cautious old general. 

These figures, given in history, may safely be cred- 
ited with an allowance for the exaggeration of the 
writers. 

The emperor approved of Lisin's estimate, and 
gave him the command, dismissing the older war- 
rior as an over-cautious dotard. The event told a 
different tale. Lisin was surprised during his march 
and driven back in utter defeat, losing forty thousand 
men, as the records say, in the battle and the pur- 
suit. What became of the defeated braggart history 
fails to state. If he survived the battle, he could 
hardly have dared to present himself again before his 
furious master. 

Hoangti now sent for the veteran whom he had 
dismissed as a dotard, and asked him to take com- 
mand of the troops. 

" Six hundred thousand : no less will serve," re- 
peated the old man. 

" You shall have all you ask for," answered the 
emperor. 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 163 

This vast host collected, the question of supplies 
presented itself as a serious matter. 

"Do not let that trouble you/' said the emperor 
to his general. " I have taken steps to provide 
for that, and promise you that provisions are more 
likely to be wanting in my palace than in your 
camp." 

The event proved the soundness of the old war- 
rior's judgment and his warlike skill. A great bat- 
tle soon took place, in which Wang Tsein, taking 
advantage of a false movement of the enemy, drove 
him in panic flight from the field. This was soon 
followed by the complete conquest of the princi- 
pality, whose cities were strongly garrisoned by im- 
perial troops, and its rulers sent to the capital to 
experience the fate of the preceding princely cap- 
tives. The subjection of several smaller provinces 
succeeded, and the conquest of China was at length 
complete. 

The feudal principalities, which had been the suc- 
cessors of the independent kingdoms into which the 
Chinese territory was originally divided, were thus 
overthrown, the ancient local dynasties being exter- 
minated, and their territories added to the dominion 
of the Tsins. The unity of the empire was at 
length established, and the great conqueror became 
" the first universal emperor." 

Hoangti the Great, as we may justly designate the 
man who first formed a united Chinese empire, and 
to whom the mighty conception of the Great Wall 
was due, did not exhaust his energies in these varied 
labors. Choosing as his capital Heenyang (now Se- 



164 HISTORICAL TALES. 

gan Foo), he built himself there a palace of such 
magnificence as to make it the wonder and admira- 
tion of the age. This was erected outside the city, 
on so vast a scale that ten thousand men could be 
drawn up in order of battle in one of its courts. 
Attached to it were magnificent gardens, the whole 
being known as the Palace of Delight. Within the 
city he had another palace, of grand dimensions, its 
hall of audience being adorned with twelve gigantic 
statues made from the spoils of his many campaigns, 
each of them weighing twelve thousand pounds. 

The capital was otherwise highly embellished, and 
an edict required that all weapons should be sent 
to the arsenal in that city, there being no longer 
danger of civil war, and " peace being universal." 
This measure certainly tended to prevent war, and 
" the skilful disarming of the provinces added daily 
to the wealth and prosperity of the capital." 

The empire of China thus being, for the first time 
in its history, made a centralized one, Hoangti di- 
vided it into thirty-six provinces, and set out on a 
tour of inspection of the vast dominions which ac- 
knowledged him as sole lord and master. Governors 
and sub-governors were appointed in each province, 
the stability of the organization adopted being evi- 
denced by the fact that it still exists. The most 
important result of the imperial journey was the 
general improvement of the roads of the empire. 
It was the custom, when a great man visited any 
district, to repair the roads which he would need to 
traverse, while outside his line of march the high- 
ways were of a very imperfect character. Hoangti 



o 

z 
I 




THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 165 

was well aware of this custom, and very likely he 
may have convinced himself of the true condition 
of the roads by sudden detours from the prescribed 
route. At all events, he made the following notable 
remarks : 

" These roads have been made expressly for me, 
and are very satisfactory. But it is not just that 
I alone should enjoy a convenience of which my 
subjects have still greater need, and one which I 
can give them. Therefore I decree that good roads 
shall be made in all directions throughout the em- 
pire." 

In these few words he set in train a far more use- 
ful work than the Great Wall. High-roads were laid 
out on a grand scale, traversing the empire from end 
to end, and the public spirit of the great emperor is 
attested by the noble system of highways which 
still remain, more than two thousand years after his 
death. 

Having said so much in favor of Hoangti, we 
have now to show the reverse of the shield, in de- 
scribing that notable act which has won him the 
enmity of the literary class, not only in China but 
in the whole world. This was the celebrated " burn- 
ing of the books." Hoangti was essentially a re- 
former. Time-honored ceremonies were of little im- 
portance in his eyes when they stood in the way of 
the direct and practical, and he abolished hosts of 
ancient customs that had grown wearisome and un- 
meaning. This sweeping away of the drift-wood of 
the past was far from agreeable to the officials, to 
whom formalism and precedent were as the breath 



166 HISTORICAL TALES. 

of life. One of the ancient customs required the em- 
perors to ascend high mountains and offer sacrifices 
on their summits. The literary class had ancient 
rule and precedent for every step in this ceremony, 
and so sharply criticised the emperor's disregard of 
these observances that they roused his anger. " You 
vaunt the simplicity of the ancients," he impatiently 
said ; " you should then be satisfied with me, for I 
act in a simpler fashion than they did." Finally 
he closed the controversy with the stern remark, 
" When I have need of you I will let you know my 
orders." 

The literati of China have always been notable 
for the strength of their convictions and the obsti- 
nate courage with which they express their opinions 
at all risks. They were silenced for the present, but 
their anger, as well as that of the emperor, only 
slumbered. Five years afterwards it was reawak- 
ened. Hoangti had summoned to the capital all the 
governors and high officials for a Grand Council of 
the Empire. With the men of affairs came the men 
of learning, many of them wedded to theories and 
traditions, who looked upon Hoangti as a danger- 
ous iconoclast, and did not hesitate to express their 
opinion. 

It was the most distinguished assembly that had 
ever come together in China, and, gathered in that 
magnificent palace which was adorned with the 
spoils of conquered kingdoms, it reflected the highest 
honor on the great emperor who had called it to- 
gether and who presided over its deliberations. But 
the hardly concealed hostility of the literati soon 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 167 

disturbed the harmony of the council. In response 
to the emperor, who asked for candid expressions 
of opinion upon his government and legislation, a 
courtier arose with words of high praise, ending 
with, " Truly you have surpassed the very greatest 
of your predecessors even at the most remote period." 

The men of books broke into loud murmurs at this 
insult to the heroes of their admiration, and one of 
them sprang angrily to his feet, designating the 
former speaker as " a vile flatterer unworthy of the 
high position which he occupied," and continuing 
with unstinted praise of the early rulers. His 
oration, which showed much more erudition than 
discretion, ended by advocating a reversal of the 
emperor's action, and aredivision of the empire into 
feudal principalities. 

Hoangti, hot with anger, curtly reminded the 
speaker that that point was not open to discussion, 
it having already been considered and decided. He 
then called on Lisseh, his minister, to state again the 
reasons for the unity of the empire. The speech of 
the minister is one of high importance, as giving the 
ostensible reasons for the unexampled act of de- 
struction by which it was followed. 

"It must be admitted," he said, " after what we 
have just heard, that men of letters are, as a rule, 
very little acquainted with what concerns the gov- 
ernment of a country, — not that government of pure 
speculation, which is nothing more than a phantom, 
vanishing the nearer we approach to it, but the 
practical government which consists in keeping men 
within the sphere of their practical duties. With 



168 HISTORICAL TALES. 

all their pretence of knowledge, they are, in this 
matter, densely ignorant. They can tell you by 
heart everything which has happened in the past, 
back to the most remote period, but they are, or 
seem to be, ignorant of what is being done in these 
later days, of what is passing under their very eyes. 
Incapable of discerning that the thing which was 
formerly suitable would be wholly out of place to- 
day, they would have everything arranged in exact 
imitation of what they find written in their books.'' 

He went on to denounce the men of learning as a 
class uninfluenced by the spirit of existing affairs 
and as enemies of the public weal, and concluded 
by saying, "Now or never is the time to close the 
mouths of these secret enemies, to place a curb upon 
their audacity.'* 

He spoke the sentiments of the emperor, who had 
probably already determined upon his course of 
action. Having no regard for books himself, and 
looking upon them as the weapons of his banded 
foes, he issued the memorable order that all the books 
of the empire should be destroyed, making exception 
only of those that treated of medicine, agriculture, 
architecture, and astronomy. The order included 
the works of the great Confucius, who had edited 
and condensed the more ancient books of the em- 
pire, and of his noble disciple Mencius, and was of 
the most tyrannical and oppressive character. All 
books containing historical records, except those re- 
lating to the existing reign, were to be burned, and 
all who dared even to speak together about the 
Confucian "Book of Odes" and "Book of History" 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 169 

were condemned to execution. All who should 
even make mention of the past, so as to blame the 
present, were, with all their relatives, to be put to 
death ; and any one found, after thirty days, with a 
book in his possession was to be branded and sent 
to work for four years on the Great Wall. Hoangti 
did not confine himself to words. The whole empire 
was searched for books, and all found were burned, 
while large numbers of the literati who had dis- 
obeyed the edict were arrested, and four hundred and 
sixty of them were buried alive in a great pit dug for 
that purpose. 

It may well be that Hoangti had his own fame 
largely in view in this unprecedented act, as in his 
preceding wall-building and road-making. He may 
have proposed to sweep away all earlier records of 
the empire and make it seem to have sprung into 
existence full-fledged with his reign. But if he had 
such a purpose, he did not take fully into account 
the devotion of men of learning to their cherished 
manuscripts, nor the powers of the human memory. 
Books were hidden in the roofs and walls of dwell- 
ings, buried underground, and in some cases even 
concealed in the beds of rivers, until after the 
tyrant's death. And when a subsequent monarch 
sought to restore these records of the past, van- 
ished tomes reappeared from the most unlooked-for 
places. As for the " Book of History" of Confucius, 
which had disappeared, twenty-eight sections of the 
hundred composing it were taken down from the 
lips of an aged blind man who had treasured them 
in his memory, and one was obtained from a young 



170 HISTORICAL TALES. 

girl. The others were lost until 140 B.C., when, in 
pulling down the house of the great philosopher, a 
complete copy of the work was found hidden in its 
walls. As for the scientific works that were spared, 
none of them have come down to our day. 

We shall now briefly complete our story of the 
man who made himself the most thoroughly hated 
of all Chinese monarchs by the literati of that 
realm. Organizing his troops into a strong standing 
army, he engaged in a war of conquest in the south, 
adding Tonquin and Cochin China to his dominions, 
and carrying* his arms as far as Bengal. In the 
north he again sent his armies into the desert to 
chastise the troublesome nomads, and then, conceiv- 
ing that no advantage was to be gained in extending 
his empire over these domains of barbarism, he em- 
ployed the soldiers as aids in the task of building the 
Great Wall, adding to them a host of the industrial 
population of the north. 

In 210 B.C. Hoangti was seized with some malady 
which he failed to treat as he did his enemies. Neg- 
lecting the simplest remedial measures, he came 
suddenly to the end of his career after a reign of 
fifty-one years. With him were buried many of his 
wives and large quantities of treasure, a custom of 
barbarous origin which was confined in China to the 
chiefs of Tsin. Magnificent in his ideas and fond of 
splendor, he despised formality, lived simply in the 
midst of luxury, and distinguished himself from 
other Chinese rulers by making walking his favorite 
exercise. While not great as a soldier, he knew how 
to choose soldiers, and in his administration was 



THE FOUNDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 171 

wise enough to avail himself of the advice of the 
ablest ministers. 

Yet with all his greatness he could not provide for 
the birth of a great son. Upon his death disturb- 
ances broke out in all quarters of the realm, with 
which his weak successor was unable to cope. In 
three years the reign of his son was closed with as- 
sassination, while the grandson of Hoangti, defeated 
in battle after a six weeks' nominal reign, ended his 
life in murder or suicide. With him the dynasty of 
the Tsins passed away and that of the Han mon- 
archs succeeded. Hoangti stands alone as the great 
man of his race. 



KAOTSOU AND THE DYNASTY 
OF THE HANS. 

After the death of the great Hoangti, two of his 
generals fought for the throne of China, — Lieou 
Pang, who represents, in the Chinese annals, intel- 
lect, and Pa Wang, representing brute force, unin- 
spired by thought. Destiny, if we can credit the 
following tale, had chosen the former for the throne. 
" A noted physiognomist once met him on the high- 
road, and, throwing himself down before him, said, 
1 I see by the expression of your features that you 
are destined to be emperor, and I offer you in antici- 
pation the tribute of respect that a subject owes his 
sovereign. I have a daughter, the fairest and wisest 
in the empire ; take her as your wife. So confident 
am I that my prediction will be realized that I gladly 
offer her to you.' " 

However that be, the weak descendants of Hoangti 
soon vanished from the scene, Pa Wang was over- 
come in battle, and the successful general seized the 
imperial throne. He chose, as emperor, the title of 
Kaotsou, and named his dynasty, from his native 
province, the Han. It was destined to continue for 
centuries in power. 

The new emperor showed himself a worthy suc- 
cessor of the builder of the Great Wall, while he 
made every effort to restore to the nation its books, 
172 



KAOTSOTT AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS. 173 

encouraging men of letters and seeking to recover 
such literature as had survived the great burning. 
In this way he provided for his future fame at the 
hands of the grateful literati of China. Amnesty- 
to all who had opposed him was proclaimed, and re- 
gret expressed at the sufferings of the people " from 
the evils which follow in the train of war." 

The merit of Kaotsou lay largely in the great 
public works with which he emulated the policy of 
his energetic predecessor. The " Lofty and August 
Emperor" (Kao Hoangti), as he entitled himself, did 
not propose to be thrown into the shade by any who 
had gone before. On taking the throne he chose as 
his capital the city of Loyang (now Honan), but 
subsequently selected the city of Singanfoo, in the 
western province of Shensi. This city lay in a nest 
of mountains, which made it very difficult of ap- 
proach. It was not without advantages from its 
situation as the capital of the empire, but could not 
be reached from the south without long detours. 
Possibly this difficulty may have had something to 
do with its choice by the emperor, that he might 
display his genius in overcoming obstacles. 

To construct roads across and to cut avenues 
through the mountains an army of workmen, one 
hundred thousand in number, became necessary. 
The deep intervening valleys were filled up to the 
necessary level by the spoils rent from the lofty ad- 
joining mountains, and where this could not be done, 
great bridges, supported on strong and high pillars, 
were thrown across from side to side. Elsewhere 
suspension bridges — " flying bridges," as the Chinese 



174 HISTORICAL TALES. 

call them — were thrown across deep and rugged 
ravines, wide enough for four horsemen to travel 
abreast, their sides being protected by high balus- 
trades. One of these, one hundred and fifty yards 
long, and thrown over a valley more than five 
hundred feet deep, is said to be still in perfect con- 
dition. These suspension bridges were built nearly 
two thousand years before a work of this character 
was attempted in Europe. In truth, the period in 
question, including several centuries before Christ, 
was the culminating age of Chinese civilization, in 
which appeared its great religious reformers, philos- 
ophers, and authors, its most daring engineers, and 
its monarchs of highest public spirit and broadest 
powers of conception and execution. It was the age 
of the Great Wall, the imperial system of highways, 
the system of canals (though the Great Canal was 
of later date), and other important works of public 
utility. 

By the strenuous labors described Kaotsou ren- 
dered his new capital easy of access from all quarters 
of the kingdom, while at frequent intervals along 
the great high-roads of the empire there were built 
post-houses, caravansaries, and other conveniences, 
so as to make travelling rather a pleasure than the 
severe task it formerly had been. 

The capital itself was made as attractive as the 
means of reaching it were made easy. Siaho, at once 
an able war minister and a great builder, planned 
for the emperor a palace so magnificent that Kaotsou 
hesitated in ordering its erection. Siaho removed 
his doubts with the following argument: "You 



KAOTSOU" AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS. 175 

should look upon all the empire as your family; and 
if the grandeur of your palace does not correspond 
with that of your family, what idea will it give of 
its power and greatness ?" 

This argument sufficed : the palace was built, and 
Kaotsou celebrated its completion with festivities 
continued for several weeks. On one occasion dur- 
ing this period, uplifted with a full sense of the 
dignity to which he had attained, his pride found 
vent in the grandiloquent remark, " To-day I feel 
that I am indeed emperor, and perceive all the dif- 
ference between a subject and his master." 

His fondness for splendor was indicated by mag- 
nificent banquets and receptions, and his sense of 
dignity by a court ceremonial which must have 
proved a wearisome ordeal for his courtiers, though 
none dared infringe it for fear of dire consequences. 
Those who had aided him in his accession to power 
were abundantly rewarded, with one exception, that 
of his father, who seems to have been overlooked in 
the distribution of favors. The old man, not relish- 
ing thus being left at the foot of the ladder, took 
prompt occasion to remind his son of his claims. 
Dressing himself in his costliest garments, he pre- 
sented himself at the foot of the throne, where, in a 
speech of deep humility, he designated himself as 
the least yet the most obedient subject of the realm. 
Kaotsou, thus admonished, at once called a council 
of ministers and had the old man proclaimed " the 
lesser emperor." Taking him by the hand, he led 
him to a chair at the foot of the throne as his future 
seat. This act of the emperor won him the highest 



176 HISTORICAL TALES. 

commendation from his subjects, the Chinese looking 
upon respect to and veneration of parents as the 
duty surpassing all others and the highest evidence 
of virtue. 

Siaho, the palace-builder and war minister, had 
been specially favored in this giving of rewards, 
much to the discontent of the leading generals, who 
claimed all the credit for the successes in war, and 
were disposed to look with contempt on this mere 
cabinet warrior. Hearing of their complaints, Kao- 
tsou summoned them to his presence, and thus 
plainly expressed his opinion of their claims : 

" You find, I am told, reason to complain that I 
have rewarded Siaho above yourselves. Tell me, 
who are they at the chase who pursue and capture 
the prey ? The dogs. — But who direct and urge on 
the dogs ? Are they not the hunters ? — You have 
all worked hard for me; you have pursued your 
prey with vigor, and at last captured and overthrown 
it. In this you deserve the credit which one gives 
to the dogs in the chase. But the merit of Siaho is 
that of the hunter. It is he who has conducted the 
whole of the war, who regulated everything, ordered 
you to attack the enemy at the opportune moment, 
and by his tactics made you master of the cities and 
provinces you have conquered. On this account he 
deserves the credit of the hunter, who is more worthy 
of reward than are the dogs whom he sets loose upon 
the prey." 

One further anecdote is told of this emperor, 
which is worth repeating, as its point was aptly 
illustrated in a subsequent event. Though he had 



KAOTSOU AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS. 177 

won the empire by the sword, he was not looked 
upon as a great general, and on one occasion asked 
Hansin, his ablest officer, how many men he thought 
he (the emperor) could lead with credit in the field. 

"Sire," said the plain-spoken general, "you can 
lead an army of a hundred thousand men very well. 
But that is all.' 1 

" And how many can you lead ?" 

" The more I have the better I shall lead them," 
was the self-confident answer. 

The event in which the justice of this criticism 
was indicated arose during a subsequent war with 
the Tartars, who had resumed their inroads into the 
empire. The Heung-nou were at this period gov- 
erned by two leading chiefs, Mehe and Tonghou, 
the latter arrogant and ambitious, the former well 
able to bide his time. The story goes that Tonghou 
sent to Mehe a demand for a favorite horse. His 
kinsmen advised him to refuse, but Mehe sent the 
horse, saying, " Would you quarrel with your neigh- 
bor for a horse ?" Tonghou soon after sent to de- 
mand of Mehe one of his wives. Mehe again com- 
plied, saying to his friends, " Would you have me 
undertake a war for the sake of a woman ?" Tong- 
hou, encouraged by these results of his insolence, 
next invaded Mehe's dominions. The patient chief, 
now fully prepared, took the field, and in a brief 
time had dispersed Tonghou's army, captured and 
executed him, and made himself the principal chief 
of the clans. 

This able leader, having punished his insolent 
desert foe, soon led his warlike followers into China, 

12 



178 HISTORICAL TALES. 

took possession of many fertile districts, extended 
his authority to the banks of the Hoang-ho, and 
sent plundering expeditions into the rich provinces 
beyond. In the war that followed the emperor him- 
self took command of his troops, and, too readily 
believing the stories of the weakness of the Tartar 
army told by his scouts, resolved on an immediate 
attack. One of his generals warned him that " in 
war we should never despise an enemy," but the 
emperor refused to listen, and marched confidently 
on, at the head of his advance guard, to find the 
enemy. 

He found him to his sorrow. Mehe had skilfully 
concealed his real strength for the purpose of draw- 
ing the emperor into a trap, and now, by a well- 
directed movement, cut off the rash leader from his 
main army and forced him to take refuge in the 
city of Pingching. Here, vastly outnumbered and 
short of provisions, the emperor found himself in a 
desperate strait, from which he could not escape by 
force of arms. 

In this dilemma one of his officers suggested a 
possible method of release. This was that, as a last 
chance, the most beautiful virgin in the city should 
be sent as a peace-offering to the desert chief. 
Kaotsou accepted the plan, — nothing else presenting 
itself, — and the maiden was chosen and sent. She 
went willingly, it is said, and used her utmost arts 
to captivate the Tartar chief. She succeeded, and 
Mehe, after forcing Kaotsou to sign an ignominious 
treaty, suffered his prize to escape, and retired to 
* the desert, well satisfied with the rich spoils he had 



KAOTSOTJ AND THE DYNASTY OF THE HANS. 179 

won. Kaotsou was just enough to reward the gen- 
eral to whose warning he had refused to listen, but 
the scouts who had misled him paid dearly for their 
false reports. 

This event seems to have inspired Kaotsou with 
an unconquerable fear of his desert foe, who was 
soon back again, pillaging the borders with impunity 
and making such daring inroads that the capital 
itself was not safe from their assaults. Instead of 
trusting to his army, the emperor now bought off 
his enemy in a more discreditable method than be- 
fore, concluding a treaty in which he acknowledged 
Mehe as an independent ruler and gave him his 
daughter in marriage. 

This weakness led to revolts in the empire, Kao- 
tsou being forced again to take the field against his 
foes. But, worn out with anxiety and misfortune, 
his end soon approached, his death-bed being dis- 
turbed by palace intrigues concerning the succession, 
in which one of his favorite wives sought to have 
her son selected as the heir. Kaotsou, not heeding 
her petition, chose his eldest son as the heir-apparent, 
and soon after died. The tragic results of these in- 
trigues for the crown will be seen in the following 
tale. 



THE LUCRETIA BORGIA OF 
CHINA. 

About two centuries before Christ a woman came 
to the head of affairs in China whose deeds recall 
the worst of those which have long added infamy 
to the name of Lucretia Borgia. As regards the 
daughter of the Borgias tradition has lied : she was 
not the merciless murderess of fancy and fame. 
But there is no mitigation to the story of the em- 
press Liuchi, who, with poison as her weapon, made 
herself supreme dictator of the great Chinese realm. 

The death of the great emperor Kaotsou left two 
aspirants for the throne, the princes Hoeiti, son of 
Liuchi, and Chow Wang, son of the empress Tsi. 
There was a palace plot to raise Chow Wang to the 
throne, but it was quickly foiled by the effective 
means used by the ambitious Liuchi to remove the 
rivals from the path of her son. Poison did the work. 
The empress Tsi unsuspiciously quaffed the fatal 
bowl, which was then sent to Chow Wang, who inno- 
cently drank the same perilous draught. Whatever 
may have been the state of the conspiracy, this vig- 
orous method of the queen-mother brought it to a 
sudden end, and Hoeiti ascended the throne. 

The young emperor seemingly did not approve of 
ascending to power over the dead bodies of his oppo- 
nents. He reproved his mother for her cruel deed, 
180 



THE LUCRETIA BORGIA OF CHINA. 181 

and made a public statement that he had taken no 
part in the act. Yet under this public demonstration 
secret influences seem to have been at work within 
the palace walls, for the imperial poisoner retained 
her power at court and her influence over her son. 
When the great princes sought the capital to render 
homage to the new emperor, to their surprise and 
chagrin they found the unscrupulous dowager em- 
press at the head of affairs, the sceptre of the realm 
practically in her hands. 

They were to find that this dreadful woman was a 
dangerous foe to oppose. Among the potentates was 
Tao Wang, Prince of Tsi, who, after doing homage 
to the young emperor, was invited to feast with him. 
At this banquet Liuchi made her appearance, and 
when the wine was passed she insisted on being 
served first. These unpardonable breaches of eti- 
quette — which they were in the Chinese code of good 
manners — were looked upon with astonishment by 
the visiting prince, who made no effort to conceal his 
displeasure on seeing any one attempt to drink before 
the emperor. 

Liuchi, perceiving that she had made an enemy by 
her act, at once resolved to remove him from her 
path, with the relentless and terrible decision with 
which she had disposed of her former rivals. Cov- 
ertly dropping the poison, which she seems to have 
always had ready for use, into a goblet of wine, she 
presented it to the prince of Tsi, asking him to pledge 
her in a draught. The unsuspicious guest took the 
goblet from her hand, without a dream of what the 
courtesy meant. 



182 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Fortunately for him, the emperor, who distrusted 
his mother too deeply to leave her unobserved, had 
seen her secret act and knew too well what it meant. 
Snatching the fatal bowl from the prince's hand, he 
begged permission to pledge his health in that wine, 
and, with his eyes fixed meaningly on his mother's 
face, lifted it in turn to his royal lips. 

The startled woman had viewed the act with wide 
eyes and trembling limbs. Seeing her son apparently 
on the point of drinking, an involuntary cry of 
warning burst from her, and, springing hastily to 
her feet, she snatched the fatal cup from his hand 
and dashed it to the floor. The secret was revealed. 
The prince of Tsi had been on the very point of 
death. With an exclamation of horror, and a keen 
invective addressed to the murderess, he rushed from 
that perilous room, and very probably was not long 
in hastening from a city which held so powerful and 
unscrupulous a foe. 

The Chinese Borgia's next act of violence found a 
barbarian for its victim. The Tartar chief Mehe 
sent an envoy to the capital of China, with a message 
which aroused the anger of the empress, who at once 
ordered him to be executed, heedless of the fact that 
she thus brought the nation to the brink of war. 
Four years afterwards Hoeiti, the emperor, died, 
leaving vacant the throne which he had so feebly 
filled. 

It is not to be supposed that Liuchi had any hand 
in this closing of a brief and uneventful reign. Her 
son was in no sense in her way, and served as a use- 
ful shield behind which she held the reins of gov- 



THE LUCRETIA BORGIA OF CHINA. 183 

ernment. But she was in no haste to fill the vacant 
throne, preferring to rule openly as the supreme 
power in the realm. In order to consolidate her 
strength, she placed her brothers and near relations 
in the great posts of the empire, and strengthened 
her position by every means fair and foul. 

It soon became evident, however, that this ambi- 
tious scheme could not be carried through. Through- 
out the land went up a cry for a successor to the 
dead emperor. In this dilemma the daring woman 
adopted a bold plan, bringing forward a boy who 
she declared was the offspring of her dead son, and 
placing this child of unknown parents upon the 
vacant throne. As a regent was needed during the 
minority of her counterfeit grandson, she had herself 
proclaimed as the holder of this high office. 

All this was very little to the taste of the ministers 
of the late emperor. Never before had the govern- 
ment of China been in the hands of a woman. But 
they dared not make an effort to change it, or even 
to speak their sentiments in too loud a tone. Liuchi 
had ways of suppressing discontent that forced her 
enemies to hold their peace. The only one who ven- 
tured to question the arbitrary will of the regent 
was the mother of the nominal emperor, and sudden 
death removed her from the scene. Liuchi's ready 
means of vengeance had been brought into play 
again. 

For years now the imperious empress ruled China 
unquestioned. Others who ventured on her path 
may have fallen, but the people remained content, so 
that the usurper seems to have avoided any oppres- 



184 HISTORICAL TALES. 

sion of her subjects. But these years brought the 
child she had placed on the throne well on towards 
man's estate, and he began to show signs of an inten- 
tion to break loose from leading-strings, He was 
possessed of ability, or at least of energy, and there 
were those ready to whisper in his ear the bitter tale 
of how his mother had been forced to swallow Liu- 
chi's draught of death. 

Stirred to grief and rage by these whispers of a 
fell deed, the youthful ruler vowed revenge upon the 
murderess. He vowed his own death in doing so. 
His hasty words were carried by spies to Liuchi's 
ears, and with her usual promptness she caused the 
imprudent youth to be seized and confined within 
the palace prison. The puppet under whom she 
ruled had proved inconvenient, and there was not a 
moment's hesitation in putting him out of the way. 
What became of him is not known, the prison rarely 
revealing its secrets, but from Liuchi's character we 
may safely surmise his fate. 

The regent at once set to work to choose a more 
pliant successor to her rebellious tool. But her cup 
of crime was nearly full. Though the people re- 
mained silent, there was deep discontent among the 
officials of the realm, while the nobles were fiercely 
indignant at this virtual seizure of the throne by an 
ambitious woman. The storm grew day by day. 
One great chief boldly declared that he acknowledged 
" neither empress nor emperor," and the family of 
the late monarch Kaotsou regained their long-lost 
courage on perceiving these evidences of a spirit of 
revolt. 



THE LUCRETIA BORGIA OF CHINA. 185 

Dangers were gathering around the resolute re- 
gent. But her party was strong, her hand firm, her 
courage and energy great, and she would perhaps 
have triumphed over all her foes had not the prob- 
lem been unexpectedly solved by her sudden death. 
The story goes that, while walking one day in the 
palace halls, meditating upon the best means of 
meeting and defeating her numerous foes, she found 
herself suddenly face to face with a hideous spectre, 
around which rose the shades of the victims whom 
she had removed by poison or violence from her 
path. With a spasm of terror the horrified woman 
fell and died. Conscience had smitten her in the 
form of this terrific vision, and retribution came to 
the poisoner in the halls which she had made in- 
famous by her crimes. 

Her death ended the hopes of her friends. Her 
party fell to pieces throughout the realm, but a strong 
force still held the palace, where they fiercely de- 
fended themselves against the army brought by their 
foes. But their great empress leader was gone, one 
by one they fell in vain defence, and the capture of 
the palace put an end to the power which the woman 
usurper had so long and vigorously maintained. 



THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR 
STEPPES. 

Many as have been the wars of China, the Chinese 
are not a warlike people. Their wars have mostly- 
been fought at home to repress rebellion or overcome 
feudal lords, and during the long history of the na- 
tion its armies have rarely crossed the borders of the 
empire to invade foreign states. In fact, the chief 
aggressive movements of the Chinese have been 
rather wars of defence than of offence, wars forced 
upon them by the incessant sting of invasions from 
the desert tribes. 

For ages the Tartars made China their plunder- 
ground, crossing the borders in rapid raids against 
which the Great Wall and the frontier forces proved 
useless for defence, and carrying off vast spoil from 
the industrious Chinese. They were driven from 
the soil scores of times, only to return as virulently 
as before. Their warlike energy so far surpassed 
that of their victims that one emperor did not hesi- 
tate to admit that three Tartars were the equal of 
five Chinese. They were bought off at times with 
tribute of rich goods and beautiful maidens, and 
their chief was even given the sister of an emperor 
for wife. And still they came, again and again, 
swarms of fierce wasps which stung the country 
more deeply with each return. 
186 



THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR STEPPES. 187 

This in time became intolerable, and a new policy 
was adopted, that of turning the tables on the Tar- 
tars and invading their country in turn. In the 
reign of Vouti, an emperor of the Han dynasty (135 
B.C.), the Tartar king sent to demand the hand of a 
Chinese princess in marriage, offering to continue the 
existing truce. Bitter experience had taught the Chi- 
nese how little such an offer was to be trusted. Wang 
Kue, an able general, suggested the policy " of destroy- 
ing them rather than to remain constantly exposed 
to their insults," and in the end war was declared. 

The hesitation of the emperor had not been with- 
out abundant reason. To carry their arms into the 
wilds of Central Asia seemed a desperate enterprise 
to the peaceful Chinese, and their first effort in this 
direction proved a serious failure. Wang Kue, at 
the head of an army of three hundred thousand 
men, marched into the desert, adopting a stratagem 
to bring the Tartars within his reach. His plan 
failed, the Tartars avoided an attack, and Wang Kue 
closed the campaign without a shred of the glory 
he had promised to gain. The emperor ordered his 
arrest, which he escaped in the effective Eastern fash- 
ion of himself putting an end to his life. 

But, though the general was dead, his policy sur- 
vived, his idea of aggression taking deep root in the 
Chinese official mind. Many centuries were to elapse, 
however, before it bore fruit in the final subjection 
of the desert tribes, and China was to become their 
prey as a whole before they became the subjects of 
its throne. 

The failure of Wang Kue gave boldness to the 



188 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Tartars, who carried on in their old way the war the 
Chinese had begun, making such bold and destructive 
raids that the emperor sent out a general with orders 
to fight the enemy wherever he could find them. 
This warrior, Wei Tsing bj r name, succeeded in 
catching the raiders in a trap. The Tartar chief, 
armed with the courage of despair, finally cut his 
way through the circle of his foes and brought off 
the most of his men, but his camp, baggage, wives, 
children, and more than fifteen thousand soldiers were 
left behind, and the victorious general became the 
hero of his age, the emperor travelling a day's jour- 
ney from the capital to welcome him on his return. 
This, and a later success by the same general, 
gave the Chinese the courage they so sadly needed, 
teaching them that the Tartars were not quite be- 
yond the power of the sword. A council was called, 
a proposal to carry the war into the enemy's country 
approved, and an army, composed mostly of cavalry, 
sent out under an experienced officer named Hokiu- 
ping. The ill fortune of the former invasion was 
now replaced by good. The Tartars, completely 
taken by surprise, were everywhere driven back, and 
Hokiuping returned to China rich in booty, among 
it the golden images used as religious emblems by 
one of the Tartar princes. Eeturning with a larger 
force, he swept far through their country, boasting 
on his return that he had put thirty thousand Tar- 
tars to the sword. As a result, two of the princes 
and a large number of their followers surrendered 
to Youti, and were disarmed and dispersed through 
the frontier settlements of the realm. 



THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR STEPPES. 189 

These expeditions were followed by an invasion 
of the Heung-nou country by a large army, com- 
manded by the two successful generals Wei Tsing 
and Hokiuping. This movement was attended with 
signal success, and the Tartars for the time were 
thoroughly cowed, while the Chinese lost much of 
their old dread of their desert foe. Years afterwards 
(110 B.C.) a new Tartar war began, Vouti himself 
taking command of an army of two hundred thou- 
sand men, and sending an envoy to the Tartar king, 
commanding him to surrender all prisoners and 
plunder and to acknowledge China as sovereign lord 
of himself and his people. All that the proud chief 
surrendered was the head of the ambassador, which 
he sent back with a bold defiance. 

For some reason, which history does not give, 
Vouti failed to lead his all-conquering army against 
the desert foe, and when, in a later year, the steppes 
were invaded, the imperial army found the warlike 
tribes ready for the onset. The war continued for 
twenty years more, with varied fortune, and when, 
after fifty years of almost incessant warfare with 
the nomad warriors, Youti laid down his sword with 
his life, the Tartars were still free and defiant. Yet 
China had learned a new way of dealing with the 
warlike tribes, and won a wide reputation in Asia, 
while her frontiers were much more firmly held. 

The long reign of the great emperor had not been 
confined to wars with the Tartars. In his hands the 
empire of China was greatly widened by extensions in 
the west. The large provinces of Yunnan, Szchuen, 
and Fuhkien were conquered and added to the 



190 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Chinese state, while other independent kingdoms 
were made vassal states. And " thereby hangs a 
tale" which we have next to tell. 

Far west in Northern China dwelt a barbarian 
people named the Yuchi, numerous and prosperous, 
yet no match in war for their persistent enemies the 
Tartars of the steppes. In the year 165 B.C. they 
were so utterly beaten in an invasion of the Heung- 
nou that they were forced to quit their homes and 
seek safety and freedom at a distance. Far to the 
west they went, where they coalesced with those 
warlike tribes of Central Asia who afterwards be- 
came the bane of the empire of Eome. 

The fate of this people seemed a bitter one to 
Vouti, when it was told to his sympathetic ear, and, 
in the spirit in which King Arthur sent out his 
Bound Table Knights on romantic quests, he turned 
to his council and asked if any among them was 
daring enough to follow the track of these wan- 
derers and bring them back to the land they had 
lost. One of them, Chang Keen, volunteered to 
take up the difficult quest and to traverse Asia 
from end to end in search of the fugitive tribes. 

This knight of romance was to experience many 
adventures before he should return to his native land. 
Attended by a hundred devoted companions, he set 
out, but in endeavoring to cross the country of the 
Heung-nou the whole party were made prisoners and 
held in captivity for ten long years. Finally, after a 
bitter experience of desert life, the survivors made 
their escape, and, with a courage that had outlived 
their years of thraldom, resumed their search for 



THE INVASION OF THE TARTAR STEPPES. 191 

the vanished tribes. Many western countries were 
visited in the search, and much strange knowledge 
was gained. In the end the Yuchi were found in 
their new home. With them Chang Keen dwelt for 
a year, but all his efforts to induce them to return 
were in vain. They were safe in their new land, 
and did not care to risk encounter with their old foes, 
even with the Emperor of China for their friend. 

Finally the adventurous envoy returned to China 
with two of his companions, the only survivors of 
the hundred with whom he had set out years before. 
He had an interesting story to tell of lands and 
peoples unknown to the Chinese, and wrote an ac- 
count of his travels and of the geography of the 
countries he had seen. Chang Keen was subse- 
quently sent on a mission to the western kingdom 
of Ousun, where he was received with much honor, 
though the king declined to acknowledge himself a 
vassal of the ruler of China. From here he sent 
explorers far to the south and north, bringing back 
with him fresh information concerning the Asiatic 
nations. 

Of the Yuchi later stories are told. They are said 
to have come into collision with the Parthians, whom 
they vanquished after a long-continued struggle. 
They are also credited with having destroyed the 
kingdom of Bactria, a far-eastern relic of the empire 
of Alexander the Great. Several centuries later 
they may have combined with their old foes to form 
the Huns, who flung themselves in a devastating 
torrent upon Europe, and eventually became the 
founders of the modern kingdom of Hungary. 



THE "CRIMSON EYEBROWS: 1 

With the opening of the Christian era a usurper 
came to the Chinese throne. In the year 1 B.C. the 
emperor Gaiti died, and Wang Mang, a powerful 
official, joined with the mother of the dead emperor 
to seize the power of the state. The friends and 
officials of Gaiti were ruined and disgraced, and in 
the year 1 a.d. a boy of nine years was raised to the 
throne as nominal emperor, under whose shadow 
Wang Mang ruled supreme. Money was needed for 
the ambitious upstart, and he obtained it by robbing 
the graves of former monarchs of the jewels and 
other valuables buried with them. This, from the 
Chinese point of view, was a frightful sacrilege, yet 
the people seem to have quietly submitted to the vio- 
lation of the imperial tombs. 

Five years passed away, and the emperor reached 
the age of sixteen. He might grow troublesome in 
a year or two more. Wang Mang decided that he 
had lived long enough. The poisoned cup, which 
seems to have been always ready in the Chinese 
palace, was handed to the boy by the usurper him- 
self. Drinking it unsuspiciously, the unfortunate 
youth was soon lying on the floor in the agonies of 
death, while the murderer woke the palace halls with 
his cries of counterfeit grief, loudly bewailing the 
young emperor's sad fate, and denouncing heaven 
192 



THE "CRIMSON EYEBROWS." 193 

for having sent this sudden and fatal illness upon 
the royal youth. 

To keep up appearances, another child was placed 
upon the throne. A conspiracy against the usurper 
was now formed by the great men of the state, but 
Wang Mang speedily crushed plot and plotters, rid 
himself of the new boy emperor in the same arbi- 
trary fashion as before, and, throwing off the mask 
he had thus far worn, had himself proclaimed em- 
peror of the realm. It was the Han dynasty he had 
in this arbitrary fashion brought to an end. He 
called his dynasty by the name of Sin. 

But the usurper soon learned the truth of the 
saying, " uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 
The Tartars of the desert defied his authority, broke 
their long truce, and raided the rich provinces of 
the north, which had enjoyed thirty years of peace 
and prosperity. In this juncture Wang Mang 
showed that he was better fitted to give poison to 
boys than to meet his foes in the field. The Tartars 
committed their ravages with impunity, and other 
enemies were quickly in arms. Eebellions broke out 
in the east and the south, and soon, wherever the 
usurper turned, he saw foes in the field or lukewarm 
friends at home. 

The war that followed continued for twelve years, 
the armies of rebellion, led by princes of the Han 
line of emperors, drawing their net closer and closer 
around him, until at length he was shut up within 
his capital city, with an army of foes around its 
walls. The defence was weak, and the victors soon 
made their way through the gates, appearing quickly 

13 



194 HISTORICAL TALES. 

at the palace doors. The usurper had reached the 
end of his troubled reign, but at this fatal juncture 
had not the courage to take his own life. The vic- 
torious soldiers rushed in while he was hesitating in 
mortal fear, and with a stroke put an end to his 
reign and his existence. His body was hacked into 
bleeding fragments, which were cast about the streets 
of the city, to be trampled underfoot by the rejoicing 
throng. 

It is not, however, the story of Wang Mang's 
career that we have set out to tell, but that of one of 
his foes, the leader of a band of rebels, Fanchong by 
name. This partisan leader had shown himself a 
man of striking military ability, bringing his troops 
under strict discipline, and defeating all his foes. 
Soldiers flocked to his ranks, his band became an 
army, and in the crisis of the struggle he took a step 
that made him famous in Chinese history. He or- 
dered his soldiers to paint their eyebrows red, as a 
sign that they were ready to fight to the last drop 
of their blood. Then he issued the following procla- 
mation to the people : " If you meet the l Crimson 
Eyebrows,' join yourselves to them ; it is the sure 
road to safety. You can fight the usurpers troops 
without danger ; but if you wish for death you may 
join Wang Mang's army." 

The end of the war was not the end of the " Crim- 
son Eyebrows." Fanchong was ambitious, and a 
large number of his followers continued under his flag. 
They had aided greatly in putting a Han emperor 
on the throne, but they now became his most for- 
midable foes, changing from patriots into brigands, 



THE "CRIMSON EYEBROWS." 195 

and keeping that part of the empire which they 
haunted in a state of the liveliest alarm. 

Against this thorn in the side of the realm the 
new emperor sent his ablest commander, and a fierce 
campaign ensued, in which the brigand band stub- 
bornly fought for life and license. In the end they 
suffered a crushing defeat, and for the time sank out 
of sight, but only to rise again at a later date. 

The general who had defeated them, an able prince 
of the Han family, followed up his victory by seizing 
the throne itself and deposing the weak emperor. 
The latter fled to the retreat of the remnant of the 
brigand band, and begged their aid to restore him 
to the throne, but Fanchong, who had no idea of 
placing a greater than himself at the head of his 
band, escaped from the awkward position by put- 
ting his guest to death. 

Soon after the " Crimson Eyebrows" were in the 
field again, not as supporters of an imperial refugee, 
but as open enemies of the public peace, each man 
fighting for his own hand. While the new ruler 
was making himself strong at Loyang, the new capi- 
tal, Fanchong and his brigands seized Changnan, 
Wang Mang's old capital, and pillaged it mercilessly. 
Making it their head-quarters, they lived on the in- 
habitants of the city and the surrounding district, 
holding on until the rapid approach of the army of 
the emperor admonished them that it was time to 
seek a safer place of retreat. 

The army of the brigand chief grew until it was 
believed to exceed two hundred thousand men, while 
their excesses were so great that they were every- 



196 HISTORICAL TALES. 

where regarded as public enemies, hated and exe- 
crated by the people at large. But the career of 
the " Crimson Eyebrows'' was near its end. The em- 
peror sent against them an army smaller than their 
own, but under the command of Fongy, one of the 
most skilful generals of the age. His lack of num- 
bers was atoned for by skill in manoeuvres, the brig- 
ands were beaten in numerous skirmishes, and at 
length Fongy risked a general engagement, which 
ended in a brilliant victory. During the crisis of 
¥ the battle he brought up a reserve of prisoners whom 
he had captured in the previous battles and had won 
over to himself. These, wearing still the crimson 
sign of the brigands, mingled unobserved among 
their former comrades, and at a given signal sud- 
denly made a fierce attack upon them. This treach- 
erous assault produced a panic, and Fanchong's army 
was soon flying in disorder and dismay. 

Terms were now offered to the brigand chief, which 
he accepted, and his army disbanded, with the ex- 
ception of some fragments, which soon gathered 
again into a powerful force. This Fongy attacked 
and completely dispersed, and the long and striking 
career of the " Crimson Eyebrows" came to an end. 




A CHINESE PAGODA. 



THE CONQUEST OF CENTRAL 
ASIA. 

The Chinese are the most practical and the least 
imaginative of the peoples of the earth. During their 
whole four thousand years and more of historical 
existence the idea of military glory seems never to 
have dawned upon their souls. They have had 
wars, abundance of them, but these have nearly all 
been fought for the purpose of holding on to old 
possessions, or of widening the borders of the em- 
pire by taking in neighboring lands. No Alexander, 
Caesar, or Napoleon has ever been born on Chinese 
soil ; no army has ever been led abroad in search of 
the will-of-the-wisp called glory ; the wild fancy of 
becoming lords of the world has always been out of 
touch with their practical minds. 

If we consider closely the wars of China the 
truth of what is here said will appear. The great 
bulk of them have been fought within the limits of 
the empire, for the purposes of defence against inva- 
sion, the suppression of revolt, the overthrow of the 
power of feudal lords, or in consequence of the am- 
bition of successful generals who coveted the throne. 
The wars of external conquest have been singularly 
few, consisting principally in the invasion of the 
domain of the Tartars, to which the Chinese were 
driven by the incessant raids of the desert hordes. 

197 



198 HISTORICAL TALES. 

In addition, there have been invasions of Corea and 
Indo-China, but merely as passing incidents in the 
long era of Chinese history, not as inaugurating a 
career of conquest. The great invasion of Japan in 
the thirteenth century, the only pure war of con- 
quest of China, was made by Kublai Khan, a Tartar 
emperor, and largely with Tartar troops. In brief, 
the Chinese have shown themselves in disposition 
one of the most peaceful of nations, only asking to 
be let alone, and are very unlikely to begin the war 
of conquest which some modern military writers 
fear. 

Yet there is one instance in Chinese history which 
seems to contradict what has here been said, that of 
the career of a great conqueror who carried the arms 
of China over the whole width of Asia, and who 
seemed actuated by that thirst for military glory 
which has inspired most of the great wars of the 
world and brought untold misery upon mankind. 
This was the great leader Panchow, who lived under 
three emperors of the Han dynasty, and whose career 
is full of interest and event. 

Panchow first appears in the reign of the emperor 
Mingti, who came to the throne in 57 a.d. His 
victories were won in the west, in the region of 
Kokonor, where he brought to an end the invasions 
of the Tartar tribes. Under Changti, the succeed- 
ing emperor, Panchow continued his work in the 
west, carrying on the war at his own expense, with 
an army recruited from pardoned criminals. 

Changti died, and Hoti came to the throne, a child 
ten years of age. It was under his reign that the 



THE CONQUEST OF CENTRAL ASIA. 199 

events to be described took place. During the pre- 
ceding reigns Panchow had made the power of China 
felt in regions far west of that realm, bringing sev- 
eral small kingdoms and many tribes under subjec- 
tion, conquering the city of Kashgar, and extending 
the western borders of China as far into the interior 
of Asia as the great upland region of the Pamir. 
The power of his arms had added Eastern Turkes- 
tan to the Chinese empire, a region which it con- 
tinues to hold to-day. 

But these conquests were not enough to satisfy the 
ambition of the veteran general. Under the boy 
emperor Hoti he was free to carry out his designs on 
a much larger scale. With a powerful army he set 
out on the only campaign of ambitious warfare in 
which China ever indulged. His previous victories 
had carried the terror of his name far over the 
kingdoms of the west, and he now led his army to 
conquest after conquest in the great oases of West- 
ern Turkestan, subduing kingdom after kingdom 
until no less than fifteen had submitted to the power 
of his arms, and his victorious army stood on the 
far-distant shores of the Caspian Sea, — the Northern 
Sea, as it is named in Chinese annals. 

To cross this sea would have brought him into 
Europe, which continent had never dreamed of in- 
vasion from the mysterious land of Cathay, on the 
eastern horizon of the world. Panchow's ambition 
was not yet satiated. There came to his mind the 
idea of crossing this seeming great barrier to his vic- 
torious career. He had, with his army, overcome 
innumerable difficulties of waterless deserts, lofty 



200 HISTORICAL TALES. 

mountain ranges, great rivers, and valiant enemies. 
Thus far his progress had been irresistible, and 
should a mere expanse of water put an end to his 
westward march ? 

He was checked by dread of perils in the unknown 
land beyond. The people on the borders of the 
Caspian represented that salt sea as being far more 
formidable than it really was. They dilated on its 
width, the vast mountains which lay beyond, the 
fierce tribes who would render a landing difficult and 
dangerous, and the desert regions beyond the moun- 
tains, until Panchow reluctantly gave up his scheme. 
He had already been for several years warring with 
savage nature and barbarous man, and had extended 
the dominions of his emperor much farther than 
any Chinese general had ever dreamed of before. It 
was time to call a halt, and not expose his valiant 
followers to the unknown perils beyond the great 
inland sea. 

The army remained long encamped on the Cas- 
pian, coming into communication through its envoys 
with the Eoman empire, whose eastern borders lay 
not far away, and forming relations of commerce 
with this rich and powerful realm. This done, Pan- 
chow led his ever -victorious warriors back to their 
native land, to tell the story of the marvels they 
had seen and the surprising adventures they had en- 
countered. 

That Panchow was moved by the mere thirst for 
military fame may well be doubted in view of what 
we know of the character of the Chinese. His pur- 
pose was perhaps the more practical one of opening 



THE CONQUEST OF CENTRAL ASIA. 201 

by force of arms new channels of trade, and over- 
coming the obstacles placed by the Parthians and 
other nations of Asia in the way of freedom of com- 
merce. On his return to China he found himself 
the idol of the people, the trusted friend of the em- 
peror, and the most revered and powerful subject of 
the empire. He died in his eightieth year, enjoying 
a fame such as no general of his race had ever before 
attained. 



THE SIEGE OF SINCHING. 

When the great dynasty of the Hans, which had 
held supreme rule in China for more than four hun- 
dred years, came to an end, it left that country di- 
vided up into three independent kingdoms. The 
emperors who had once ruled over all China found 
themselves now lords of its smallest division, while 
the kingdom of Wei included the largest and most 
populous districts in the realm. A war for suprem- 
acy arose between these three kingdoms, which 
ended in the kings of Wei becoming supreme over 
the whole empire and establishing a new dynasty, 
which they named the dynasty of Tsin. Of this 
war we have only one event to relate, an interesting 
example of Chinese fortitude and valor. 

Shortly after 250 a.d. an army of the Han em- 
peror, led by a general named Chukwoko, settled 
down to the siege of a small walled town named 
Sinching, held by three thousand men under the 
command of a leader named Changte, whose forti- 
tude and energy alone saved this place for the king 
of Wei. 

For ninety days the siege went on, the catapults 
of the besieging force playing incessantly upon the 
walls, which, despite the activity of the garrison, 
were in time pierced in many places, while several 
gaping breaches lay open to the foe. Changte had 
202 



THE SIEGE OF SINCHING. 203 

defended the place vigorously, no commander could 
have done more, and, as no sign of a relieving force 
appeared, he could with all honor have capitulated, 
thrown open the gates, and marched out with such 
dignity as the victorious enemy would permit. 

But this was not the view of his duty held by the 
valorous soldier. He was one of the kind who die 
but do not surrender, and in his extremity had re- 
course to the following ruse. He sent word to 
Chukwoko that, as the place was clearly untenable, 
he was willing to surrender if he were granted ten 
days more of grace. 

"It is a law among the princes of Wei," he said, 
" that the governor of a place which has held out for 
a hundred days, and then, seeing no prospect of 
relief, surrenders, shall not be held guilty of dere- 
liction of duty." 

Chukwoko gladly accepted this offer, being weary 
of his long delay before this small post, and quite 
willing to save his men from the perils of an assault. 
But, to his astonishment, a few days later he saw 
fresh bulwarks rising above those which had been 
ruined by his engines, while the breaches were rap- 
idly repaired, new gates replaced those that had 
been destroyed, and Sinching seemed suddenly to 
regain the appearance it had presented three months 
before. Inside the walls a new spirit prevailed, the 
courage of the bold commander reanimating his 
troops, while the sentinels on the ramparts shouted 
messages of disdain to the besieging force. 

Indignant at this violation of the terms of the 
agreement, Chukwoko sent a flag of truce to the 



204 HISTORICAL TALES. 

gate, demanding angrily what these proceedings 
meant, and if this was Changte's way of keeping 
his word. 

" I am preparing my tomb," replied the bold com- 
mander. " I propose to bury myself under the ruins 
of Sinching." 

The tomb remained untenanted by the daring 
commandant. The long-delayed relief appeared, 
and Chukwoko was obliged to make a hasty retreat, 
with the loss of half his army. It is safe to say 
that in the pursuit Changte and his faithful three 
thousand played a leading part. 



FROM THE SHOEMAKERS 
BENCH TO THE THRONE. 

At the beginning of the fifth century of the 
Christian era China had fallen into a state of de- 
crepitude. The second dynasty of the Tsins was 
near its end. For a century and a half it had held 
the imperial power, but now it had fallen a prey to 
luxury, one of its latest emperors dying from pro- 
longed drunkenness, another being smothered in bed 
by his wife, whom he had insulted while intoxicated. 

The empire which the founder of the dynasty had 
built up showed signs of falling to pieces. In the 
south the daring pirate Sunghen was making the 
great rivers the scenes of his merciless activity, 
spreading terror along their banks, and extending 
his desolating raids far over the surrounding prov- 
inces. In the north had arisen a new enemy, the 
Geougen Tartars, whose career had begun in the 
outbreak of a hundred rebels, but who had now be- 
come so powerful that their chief assumed in the 
year 402 the proud title of Kagan, or Great Lord. 
Falling upon the northern boundaries of the empire, 
these dangerous foes made daring inroads into the 
realm. As for the provinces of the empire, many 
of them were in a rebellious mood. 

At this critical period in Chinese history a child of 
the people came forward as the savior of his country. 

205 



206 HISTORICAL TALES. 

This was a poor boy for whom his parents had done 
little more than give him his name of Lieouyu, 
having been forced by poverty to desert him to 
the cold comfort of charity. He was cared for by a 
kind woman, as poor as they, and as he grew older 
learned the humble trade of shoemaking, which he 
followed for some time as an occupation, though he 
chafed in spirit at its wearisome monotony. The 
boy had in him the seeds of better things, showing 
in his early years a remarkable quickness in learn- 
ing, and an energy that was not likely to remain 
content with a humble position. 

Seeing that his only chance of advancement lay 
in the military career, and burning with spirit and 
courage, the ambitious boy soon deserted the shoe- 
maker's bench for the army's ranks. Here he showed 
such valor and ability that he rapidly rose to the 
command of a company, and was in time intrusted 
with a small independent body of troops. It was 
against the pirate Sunghen that the young soldier 
was pitted, and during three years he vigorously op- 
posed that leader in his devastating raids. In this 
field of duty he was repeatedly victorious, breaking 
the reputation of the corsair, and so weakening him 
that his overthrow became easy. This was per- 
formed by another leader, the defeat of Sunghen 
being so signal that, despairing of escape, he leaped 
overboard and was drowned. 

Lieouyu, having abundantly proved his ability, 
was now rapidly promoted, rising in rank until he 
found himself in command of an army, which he 
handled with the greatest skill and success. His 



FROM THE SHOEMAKER'S BENCH TO THE THRONE. 207 

final victory in this position was against a formidable 
rebel, whom he fought both on land and on water 
with a much smaller force, completely defeating 
him. The emperor showed his sense of gratitude 
for this valuable service by raising the shoemaker's 
boy to the rank of commander-in-chief of all the 
armies of the empire. 

In this exalted position Lieouyu displayed the 
same energy and ability that he had shown in hum- 
bler commands. Marching from province to prov- 
ince and from victory to victory, he put down the 
rebels whom the weakness of the government had 
permitted to rise on every side. He had not only 
rebellious bands, but disloyal princes of the empire, 
to contend with. In one of his marches it was 
necessary to cross the great province of Wei, north 
of the Hoang-ho, a movement to which Topa, prince 
of the province, refused permission. Lieouyu, in- 
dignant at this disloyalty, forced the passage of the 
stream, routed the army of the prince, and pursued 
his march without further opposition, sending one 
of his generals, named Wangchinon, against the city 
of Changnan, the capital of the prince of Chin, who 
had hoisted the flag of rebellion against the emperor. 

Lieouyu had chosen his substitute well. Convey- 
ing his army by water as far as possible, Wang- 
chinon, on leaving his ships, ordered them to be cast 
adrift. To the soldiers he made the following Na- 
poleonic oration : 

" We have neither supplies nor provisions, and the 
swift waters of the Weiho bear from us the ships in 
which we came. Soldiers of the empire, only two 



208 HISTORICAL TALES. 

things lie before us. Let us beat the enemy, and we 
will regain a hundredfold all we have lost, besides 
covering ourselves with glory. If the enemy beat 
us, there is no escape ; death will be the lot of us all. 
To conquer or to die, — that is our destiny. Tou have 
heard ; prepare to march against the enemy." 

With so resolute a commander victory was almost 
assured. Changnan, vigorously assailed, quickly sur- 
rendered, and the captive prince of Chin was exe- 
cuted as a rebel taken in arms. Lieouyu, who had 
been winning victories elsewhere, now arrived, hav- 
ing marched in all haste to the aid of his valorous 
lieutenant. Praising Wangchinon for the brilliancy 
of his achievement, the commander was about put- 
ting his forces on the march for new victorious 
deeds, when peremptory orders recalled him to the 
capital, and his career of conquest was for the 
time checked. The absence of the strong hand was 
quickly felt. The rebels rose again in force, Chang- 
nan was lost and with it all the conquests Lieouyu 
had made, and the forces of the empire were every- 
where driven back in defeat. 

Meanwhile Lieouyu, at the capital, found himself 
in the midst of political complications that called for 
decisive measures. The weakness of the emperor 
troubled him, while he felt a deep resentment at what 
he considered ill treatment on the part of the throne. 
He had, as Prince of Song, been raised to the third 
rank among the princes of the realm, but he thought 
his deeds entitled him to rank among the first; while 
the success of the rebels in the absence of his master 
hand redoubled his reputation among the people. 



FROM THE SHOEMAKER'S BENCH TO THE THRONE. 209 

Ganti, the emperor, was destined to experience the 
dangerous consequences of raising a subject to such a 
height and yet leaving him below the rank to which 
he aspired. Lieouyu, now all-powerful in military 
circles, and virtually master of the realm, caused the 
emperor to be strangled, and named his brother 
Kongti as successor to the throne. But the ambi- 
tion of the shoemaker's boy had not reached its 
summit. This was but a provisional step, and the 
throne itself lay before him as an alluring prize. 
Having skilfully laid his plans, Lieouyu, at the end 
of two years, gave the weak Kongti to understand 
that his reign was at an end, and that he must step 
down from the throne which a stronger than he 
proposed to ascend. 

Kongti made no resistance to this arbitrary de- 
mand. He knew that resistance would be useless, 
and resigned his imperial dignity in favor of the 
peasant who by his sword had carved his way to the 
throne. The ceremony was an interesting one. A 
broad scaffold was erected in a field adjoining the 
capital, and on it was placed a gorgeously deco- 
rated imperial throne, which Kongti occupied, while 
Lieouyu, attired in royal garb, stood below. In the 
presence of the assembled thousands of Kienkang, 
the capital, Kongti descended from the seat which he 
had so feebly filled, while his strong successor seated 
himself on the throne amid the plaudits of the ap- 
proving multitude. In the presence of the great 
officials of the realm Kongti paid homage to Lieouyu, 
thus completing a ceremony which was without 
parallel in the history of the Chinese empire. With 

14 



210 HISTORICAL TALES. 

this act the dynasty of the Tsins came to an end, 
and was replaced by that of the Songs, of which 
Lieouyu was the first and worthiest representative. 

Of the ceremony of investiture the principal 
feature was the assumption of the imperial cap or 
crown, which has long been the chief mark of roy- 
alty worn by the Chinese emperor. This is a cap of 
peculiar shape, round in front and straight behind, 
and ornamented with one hundred and forty-four 
precious stones. From it hang twelve pendants con- 
sisting of strings of pearls, of which four are so ar- 
ranged as to hang over the emperor's eyes. This is 
done, it is said, in order that the emperor may not 
see the accused who are brought before him for 
trial. 

It was in the year 420 a.d. that Lieouyu ascended 
the throne, assuming with the imperial dignity the 
name of a former emperor of renown, Kaotsou, and 
naming his dynasty the Song, from his princely 
title. 

As for the deposed emperor, the new monarch 
had no thought of leaving any such dangerous ele- 
ment in his path, and Kongti was called upon " to 
drink the waters of eternal life," the Chinese eu- 
phuism for swallowing poison. Kongti, a devoted 
Buddhist, declined the fatal draught, on the ground 
that self-murder was in opposition to his religious 
sentiments. This is the only instance in Chinese 
history in which a deposed ruler refused to accept 
the inevitable fate of the unfortunate. To quaff the 
poisoned cup is the time-honored way of getting rid 
of an inconvenient ex-monarch. This refusal of the 



FROM THE SHOEMAKER'S BENCH TO THE THRONE. 211 

deposed emperor led to sterner measures, and he was 
murdered by the guard which had been placed over 
him in his palace. 

Lieouyu was not destined long to occupy the 
throne which he had thus secured. He was already 
growing old, and a short reign of three years ended 
his career. As a monarch and a man alike he dis- 
played sterling and admirable qualities. His cour- 
age on the field of battle, his frugality and earnest 
devotion to duty in every position which he reached, 
won him the widest commendation, while he was 
still more esteemed by his subjects for his kindness 
and devotion to the foster-mother who had nourished 
him when deserted by his own parents, and who had 
the remarkable fortune of seeing the poor child who 
had been abandoned to her charitable care seated on 
the imperial throne of the realm. 



THREE NOTABLE WOMEN. 

In the year 503 began a long war between the 
princes of Wei and the emperors of China, which 
continued for nearly half a century. Of this pro- 
tracted contest we have only three incidents to re- 
late, in which, within a few years, three heroines 
rose to prominence and in various ways showed an 
ability surpassing that of the men of their age. It 
is the story of these three women that we propose 
to tell. 

Chanyang, a stronghold of Wei, had been placed 
in charge of Grinching, one of the ablest soldiers of 
that kingdom. But the exigencies of the war obliged 
that officer to make an excursion beyond its walls, 
taking with him the main body of the garrison, and 
leaving the place very weakly defended. Taking 
advantage of this opportunity, one of the Chinese 
generals marched quickly upon the weakened strong- 
hold, surrounded it with a large army, and made so 
rapid and vigorous an assault that all the outer de- 
fences fell into his hands without a blow in their 
defence. 

At this perilous juncture, when the place was 
almost in the hands of its foes, and the depressed 
garrison was ready to yield, Mongchi, the wife of 
the absent commander, appeared upon the ramparts, 
called upon their defenders to make a bold and reso- 
212 



THREE NOTABLE WOMEN. 213 

lute resistance to the enemy, and by her courage 
and animation put new spirit into the troops. In- 
spired by her, they bravely resisted the further ad- 
vance of the assailants and held the walls, which, 
but for the valor of the heroine, must inevitably 
have been lost. 

Having thus checked the first onslaught of the 
enemy, Mongchi went vigorously to work. The in- 
habitants of the place were armed and sent to rein- 
force the garrison, the defences of the gate were 
strengthened, and by promises of reward as well as 
by her presence and inspiriting appeals the brave 
woman stirred up the defenders to such vigorous re- 
sistance that the imperial forces were on every side 
repelled, and in the end were forced to abandon the 
prize which they had deemed safely their own. Not 
till after Chanyang was saved did Ginching return 
from an important victory he had won in the field, 
to learn that his brave wife had gained as signal a 
success in his absence. 

The second woman whom we shall name was 
Houchi, wife of the king of Wei, whose husband 
came to the throne in 515, but became a mere tool 
in the hands of his able and ambitious wife. After 
a short period Houchi was so bold as to force her 
husband to vacate the throne, naming her infant son 
as king in his place, but exercising all the power of 
the realm herself. She went so far as to declare war 
against the empire, though the contest that followed 
was marked by continual disaster to her troops, ex- 
cept in one notable instance. 

As in the case above cited, so in this war a strong- 



214 HISTORICAL TALES. 

hold was successfully held by a woman. This place 
was Tsetong, whose commandant was absent, leaving 
the command to his wife Lieouchi, a woman of the 
highest courage and readiness in an emergency. 
As before, the imperial troops took advantage of 
the occasion, and quickly invested the town, while 
Lieouchi, with a valor worthy of a soldier's wife, 
made rapid preparations for defending it to the last 
extremity. 

Her decisive resolution was shown in an instance 
that must have redoubled the courage of her men. 
Discovering, after the siege had gone on for several 
days, that one of the officers of her small force was 
playing the traitor by corresponding with the enemy, 
she called a general council of the officers, with the 
ostensible purpose of deliberating on the manage- 
ment of the defence. The traitor attended the 
council, not dreaming that his proposed treason was 
suspected. He was thunderstruck when Lieouchi 
vehemently accused him before his fellow-officers of 
the crime, showing such knowledge of his purpose 
that he was forced to admit the justice of the charge. 
The energetic woman wasted no time in this critical 
state of affairs, but, drawing her sword, severed the 
head of the traitor from his body with one vigorous 
blow. This act put an end to all thoughts of treason 
in the garrison of Tsetong. 

The courage of Lieouchi was not greater than her 
judgment and decision in an emergency. There was 
but a single well to supply the garrison with water, 
and this the enemy succeeded in cutting off. The 
ready wit of the woman overcame this serious loss. 



THREE NOTABLE WOMEN. 215 

It was the rainy season, and she succeeded in col- 
lecting a considerable supply of rain-water in vases, 
while linen and the clothes of the soldiers were also 
utilized as water-catching devices. In the end the 
imperial forces, baffled in their every effort by this 
heroic woman, abandoned the siege in disgust. 

As for Houchi, the ruler of Wei, her ability was 
of a different kind, yet in her ambitious designs she 
displayed unusual powers. Deposed and imprisoned 
on account of the failure of the war, she soon over- 
threw her enemies and rose to the head of affairs 
again, and for several years continued to wage war 
with the emperor. But the war went against her, 
and trouble arose within her kingdom. Here and 
there were movements of rebellion, and the generals 
of the realm were at daggers' points to supplant one 
another. 

Amid these distractions the queen balanced her- 
self with marked skill, playing off one enemy 
against another, but her position daily grew more 
insecure. Her power was brought to an end by her 
final act, which was to depose her son and place her- 
self in sole control of the realm. Erchu Jong, a 
general of ability and decision, now rose in revolt, 
marched on the capital, made Houchi his prisoner, 
and in the same moment ended her reign and her 
life by drowning her in the waters of the Hoang-ho. 
Then, gathering two thousand of the notables of the 
city, her aids and supporters, on a plain outside the 
walls, he ordered his cavalry to kill them all. Other 
steps of the same stern character were taken by 
this fierce soldier, whose power grew so great as to 



216 HISTORICAL TALES. 

excite official dread. A general sent against him by 
Vouti, the emperor, who boasted of having gained 
forty-seven victories, was completely defeated, and 
all the results of his campaign were lost. Erchu 
Jong now formed the design of reuniting the empire 
and driving Youti from the throne, but his enemies 
brought this ambitious scheme to an end. Invited 
to the palace on some pretence, he was cut down in 
the audience-hall, the Prince of Wei, whom he had 
placed on the throne, giving his consent to this act 
of treachery. Thus was the death of Houchi quickly 
avenged. 



THE REIGN OF TAITSONG THE 
GREAT 

The history of China differs remarkably from 
that of Japan in one particular. In the latter a 
single dynasty of emperors has, from the beginning, 
ield the throne. In the former there have been 
numerous dynasties, most of them brief, some long 
extended. In Japan the emperors lived in retire- 
ment, and it was the dynasties of shoguns or gen- 
erals that suffered change. In China the emperors 
kept at the head of affairs, and were exposed to all 
the perils due to error or weakness in the ruler and 
ambition in powerful subjects. 

The fall of the great dynasty of the Hans left 
the way clear for several brief dynasties, of whose 
emperors Yangti, the last, was a man of great public 
spirit and magnificent ideas. His public spirit was 
expressed in a series of great canals, which extended 
throughout the empire, their total length being, it 
is said, more than sixteen hundred leagues. Several 
of these great works still remain. His magnificence 
of idea was shown in the grand adornments of Lo- 
yang, his capital, where two million of men were 
employed upon his palace and the public buildings. 

Yangti's son was deposed by Liyuen. Prince of 
Tang, and a new dynasty, that of the Tang em- 
perors, was formed, which continued for several cen- 

217 



218 HISTORICAL TALES. 

turies at the head of affairs. The new emperor 
assumed the name of Kaotsou, made famous by the 
first emperor of the Hans. But the glory of his 
reign belongs to his son, not to himself, and it is 
with this son, Lichimin by name, that we have now 
to do. 

It had been the custom of the founders of dynas- 
ties to begin their reign by the destruction of the 
families of their deposed rivals. The new emperor 
showed himself more merciful, by pensioning instead 
of destroying his unfortunate foes. His only ven- 
geance was upon inanimate objects. Lichimin, on 
capturing Loyang, ordered the great palace of 
Yangti, the most magnificent building in the em- 
pire, to be set on fire and destroyed. " So much 
pomp and pride," he said, " could not be sustained, 
and ought to lead to the ruin of those who consid- 
ered their own love of luxury rather than the needs 
of the people." 

While his father occupied the throne the valiant 
Lichimin went forth " conquering and to conquer." 
Wherever he went victory went with him. The foes 
of the Tangs were put down in quick succession. A 
great Tartar confederacy was overthrown by the 
vigorous young general. Four years sufficed for the 
work. At the end of that time Lichimin was able 
to announce that he had vanquished all the enemies 
of the empire, both at home and abroad. 

His victories were followed by a triumph which 
resembled those given to the great generals of 
ancient Eome. The city of Singan was the capital 
of the new dynasty, and into it Lichimin rode at 



THE REIGN OF TAITSONG THE GREAT. 219 

the head of his victorious legions, dressed in costly- 
armor and wearing a breastplate of gold. His per- 
sonal escort consisted of ten thousand picked horse- 
men, among them a regiment of cuirassiers dressed 
in black tiger-skins, who were particularly attached 
to his person and the most distinguished for valor of 
all his troops. Thirty thousand cuirassiers followed, 
with a captive king of the Tartars in their midst. 
Other captives testified to the glory of the con- 
queror, being the vanquished defenders of conquered 
cities, whose abundant spoils were displayed in the 
train. 

Into the city wound the long array, through mul- 
titudes of applauding spectators, Lichimin proceed- 
ing in state to the Hall of his Ancestors, where he 
paid obeisance to the shades of his progenitors and 
detailed to them the story of his victorious career. 
Unlike the more cruel Eomans, who massacred the 
captives they had shown in their triumphs, Lichimin 
pardoned his. The principal officers of the army 
were richly rewarded, and the affair ended in a great 
banquet, at which the emperor gave his valiant son 
the highest praise for his services to the country. 
The rejoicings ended in a proclamation of general 
amnesty and a reduction of the taxes, so that all 
might benefit by the imperial triumph. 

Yet there was poison in the victor's cup of joy. 
His brothers envied him, intrigued against him, and 
succeeded in instilling such doubts in the emperor's 
mind that Lichimin fell into disgrace and was 
strongly tempted to leave the court. The intrigues, 
which had first dealt with his good name, were next 



220 HISTORICAL TALES. 

directed against his life, a plot to murder him being 
devised. Fortunately it was discovered in time, and 
the death they had planned for their brother fell 
upon themselves, leaving him the emperor's unques- 
tioned heir. The same year (626 a.d.) the emperor 
retired to private life and raised his great son to the 
throne. 

Lichimin, as emperor, assumed the name of Tai- 
tsong, a title which he made so famous that he fully 
earned the designation of Taitsong the Great. The 
empire was surrounded with enemies, the nomads 
of the north, extending from Corea to Kokonor, 
and the warlike people of the south, from Thibet to 
Tonquin. During the remainder of his life he was 
engaged in incessant conflict with these stinging 
wasps, whose onslaughts left him no peace. 

Scarcely was he settled on the throne when the 
Tartar invasions began. Their raids were repelled, 
but they instigated Taitsong to an important measure. 
It had always been evident that the Chinese troops, 
hitherto little more than a raw militia, were unable 
to cope with the sons of the desert, and the shrewd 
emperor set himself to organize an army that should 
be a match in discipline and effectiveness for any 
of its foes. The new army embraced three ranks, 
each corps of the superior rank consisting of twelve 
hundred, and those of the others respectively of one 
thousand and eight hundred men. The total force 
thus organized approached nine hundred thousand 
men, of whom a large portion were used for frontier 
duty. These troops were carefully trained in the 
use of the bow and the pike, Taitsong himself in- 



THE REIGN OF TAITSONG THE GREAT. 221 

specting a portion of them daily. This innovation 
roused bitter opposition from the literati, whose 
books told them that former emperors did not en- 
gage in such work. But Taitsong, on the theory 
that in time of peace we should prepare for war, 
went on with his reforms regardless of their cited 
precedents. 

Taitsong' s new army was soon put to the proof. 
The Tartars were in arms again, a powerful confed- 
eracy had been formed, and China was in danger. 
Marching into the desert with his disciplined forces, 
he soon had his enemies in flight, forced several of 
the leading khans to submit, and spread the dread 
of his arms widely among the tribes. To his title 
of Emperor of China he now added that of Khan of 
the Tartars, and claimed as subjects all the nomads 
of the desert. 

The next great war was with Thibet, whose tribes 
had become subdued under one chief, called the San- 
pou, or " brave lord." This potentate, who deemed 
himself the peer of his powerful neighbor, demanded 
a Chinese princess in marriage, and when this favor 
was refused he invaded a province of the empire. 
Taitsong at once put his army in motion, defeated 
the forces of Thibet, and made the Sanpou acknow- 
ledge himself a vassal of China and pay a fine of 
five thousand ounces of gold. Then the princess he 
had sought to win by force was granted to him as a 
favor. The Sanpou gave up his barbarian ways, 
adopted Chinese customs, and built a walled city for 
his princess wife. 

The next act of the great emperor was to bring 



222 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Eastern Turkestan, conquered by Panchow more 
than five centuries before, under Chinese rule. This 
country had admitted the supremacy of the emperor, 
but not until now did it become part of the empire, 
which it has since remained. 

The last warlike act of Taitsong's life was the 
invasion of Corea. Here he won various great 
battles, but was at length baffled in the siege of a 
Corean town, and lost all he had gained, the gallant 
commandant of the town wishing the troops "a 
pleasant journey" as they began their retreat. 

Taitsong did not confine himself to deeds of war. 
Under the advice of his wife Changsungchi, a woman 
as great in her way as he was in his, and celebrated 
for her domestic virtues, talent, and good sense, he 
founded the Imperial Library and the great Col- 
lege, decreased the taxes, and regulated the finances 
of the realm. The death of this good woman was to 
him a severe blow, and he ordered that she should 
receive the funeral honors due to an emperor. 

His last days were spent in drawing up for the 
instruction of his son a great work on the art of 
government, known as the Golden Mirror. He died 
in 649 a.d., having proved himself one of the ablest 
monarchs, alike in war and in peace, that ever sat 
on the Chinese throne. 



A FEMALE RICHELIEU. 

Five years after the death of the great Taitscmg, 
his son Kaotsong, Emperor of China, fell in love 
with a woman, a fact in no sense new in the annals 
of mankind, but one which was in this case des- 
tined to exert a striking influence on the history of 
an empire. This woman was the princess Wou, a 
youthful widow of the late emperor, and now an in- 
mate of a Buddhist convent. So strong was the 
passion of the young ruler for the princess that he 
set aside the opposition of his ministers, divorced 
his lawful empress, and, in the year 655, made his 
new love his consort on the throne. 

It was a momentous act. So great was the as- 
cendency of the woman over her lover that from 
the start he became a mere tool in her hands and 
ruled the empire in accordance with her views. Her 
first act was one that showed her merciless strength 
of purpose. Fearing that the warm love of Kao- 
tsong might in time grow cold, and that the deposed 
empress or some other of the palace women might 
return to favor, she determined to sweep these pos- 
sible perils from her path. At her command the 
unhappy queens were drowned in a vase of wine, 
their hands and feet being first cut off, — seemingly 
an unnecessary cruelty. 

This merciless act of the empress, and her domi- 

223 



224 HISTORICAL TALES. 

nant influence in the government, soon made her 
many enemies. But they were to find that she was 
a dangerous person to plot against. Her son was 
proclaimed heir to the throne, and the opposing offi- 
cials soon found themselves in prison, where secret 
death quickly ended their hostility. 

Wou now sought to make herself supreme. At 
first assisting the emperor in the labors of govern- 
ment, she soon showed a quickness of apprehension, 
a ready wit in emergencies, and a tact in dealing 
with difficult questions that rendered her aid indis- 
pensable. Step by step the emperor yielded his 
power to her more skilful hands, until he retained 
for himself only the rank while she held all the 
authority of the imperial office. 

Under her control China retained abroad the 
proud position which Taitsong had won. For years 
war went on with Corea, who called in the Japanese 
to their aid. But the allies were defeated and four 
hundred of the war-junks of Japan given to the 
flames. The desert nomads remained subdued, and 
in Central Asia the power of China was firmly 
maintained. TSTow was the era of a mighty commo- 
tion in Southern Asia and the countries of the Medi- 
terranean. Arabia was sending forth its hosts, the 
sword and the Koran in hand, to conquer the world 
and convert it to the Mohammedan faith. Persia 
was in imminent peril, and sent envoys to China 
begging for aid. But the shrewd empress had no 
thought of involving her dominions in war with 
these devastating hordes, and sent word that Persia 
was too far away for an army to be despatched to 



A FEMALE RICHELIEU. 225 

its rescue. Envoys also came from India, but China 
kept carefully free from hostilities with the con- 
querors of the south. 

Kaotsong died in 683, after occupying the throne 
for thirty-three years. His death threatened the 
position of the empress, the power behind the throne. 
But she proved herself fully equal to the occasion, 
and made herself more truly the ruler of China than 
before. Chongtsong, son of the late emperor, was 
proclaimed, but a few days ended his reign. A 
decree passed by him in favor of his wife's family 
roused Wou to action, and she succeeded in deposing 
him and banishing him and his family, taking up 
again the supreme power of which she had been so 
brief a time deprived. 

She now carried matters with a high hand. A 
nominal emperor was chosen, but the rule was hers. 
She handled all the public business, disposed of the 
offices of state, erected temples to her ancestors, wore 
the robes which by law could be worn only by an 
emperor, and performed the imperial function of 
sacrificing to Heaven, the supreme deity of the 
Chinese. For once in its history China had an actual 
empress, and one of an ability and a power of main- 
taining the dignity of the throne which none of its 
emperors have surpassed. 

Her usurpation brought her a host of enemies. 
It set aside all the precedents of the empire, and that 
a woman should reign directly, instead of indirectly, 
stirred the spirit of conservatism to its depths. 
Wou made no effort to conciliate her foes. She 
went so far as to change the name of the dynasty 

15 



226 HISTORICAL TALES. 

and to place members of her own family in the great 
offices of the realm. Eebellious risings followed; 
plots for her assassination were formed ; but her vig- 
ilance was too great, her measures were too prompt, 
for treason to succeed. No matter how great the 
rank or how eminent the record of a conspirator, 
death ended his career as soon as her suspicions were 
aroused. The empire was filled with her spies, who 
became so numerous as largely to defeat their pur- 
pose, by bringing false accusations before the throne. 
The ready queen settled this difficulty by an edict 
threatening with death any one who falsely accused 
a citizen of the realm. The improbable story is told 
that in a single day a thousand charges were brought 
of which eight hundred and fifty proved to be false, 
those who brought them being at once sent to the 
block. Execution in the streets of Singan, the capi- 
tal, was her favorite mode of punishment, and great 
nobles and ministers died by the axe before the eyes 
of curious multitudes. 

A Eichelieu in her treatment of her enemies, she 
displayed the ability of a Eichelieu in her control 
of the government. Her rule was a wise one, and 
the dignity of the nation never suffered in her hands. 
The surrounding peoples showed respect for her 
power, and her subjects could not but admit that 
they were well and ably ruled. And, that they 
might the better understand this, she had books 
written and distributed describing her eminent ser- 
vices to the state, while the priesthood laid before 
the people the story of her many virtues. Thus for 
more than twenty years after the death of Kaotsong 



A FEMALE RICHELIEU. 227 

the great empress continued to hold her own in 
peace and in war. 

In her later years wars broke out, which were 
handled by her with promptness and success. But 
age now weighed upon her. In 704, when she was 
more than eighty years old, she became so ill that 
for several months she was unable to receive her 
ministers. This weakening of the strong hand was 
taken advantage of by her enemies. Murdering her 
principal relatives, they broke into the palace and 
demanded her abdication. Unable to resist, she, 
with unabated dignity of mien, handed to them the 
imperial seal and the other emblems of power. In 
the following year she died. For more than forty 
years she had been the supreme ruler of China, and 
held her great office with a strength and dignity 
which may well be called superb. 



THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS 
KHAN. 

In the northern section of the vast Mongolian 
plateau, that immense outreach of pasture -lands 
which forms the great abiding-place of the shepherd 
tribes of the earth, there long dwelt a warlike race 
which was destined to play an extraordinary part 
in the world's history. The original home of this 
people, who at an early date had won the significant 
name of Mongol, or " the brave," was in the strip of 
territory between the Onon and the Kerulon, tribu- 
taries of the upper Amur Eiver, the great water ar- 
tery of East Siberia. In this retreat, strongly pro- 
tected from attack, and with sufficient herbage for 
their flocks, the Mongols may have dwelt for ages 
unknown to history. We hear of them first in the 
ninth century, when they appeared as a section of 
the great horde of the Shiwei, attracting attention 
by their great strength and extraordinary courage, 
characteristics to which they owed their distinctive 
title. For two or three centuries they were among 
the tribes that paid tribute to China, and there was 
nothing in their career of special interest. Then 
they suddenly broke into startling prominence, and 
sent a wave of terror over the whole civilized world. 

The history of China is so closely connected with 
that of the nomad tribes that one cannot be given 
228 



THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS KHAN. 229 

without the other, and before telling the story of 
the Mongols a brief outline of the history of these 
tribes is desirable. China is on three sides abun- 
dantly defended from invasion, by the ocean on 
the east, and by mountains and desert on the south 
and west. Its only vulnerable quarter is in the 
north, where it joins on to the vast region of the 
steppes, a country whose scarcity of rain unfits it 
for agriculture, but which has sufficient herbage for 
the pasturage of immense herds. Here from time 
immemorial has dwelt a race of hardy wanderers, 
driving its flocks of sheep, cattle, and horses from 
pasture to pasture, and at frequent intervals de- 
scending in plundering raids upon the settled peoples 
of the south. 

China in particular became the prey of these war- 
like horsemen. We hear little of them in the early 
days, when the Chinese realm was narrow and the 
original barbarians possessed most of the land. We 
hear much of them in later days, when the empire 
had widened and grown rich and prosperous, offer- 
ing an alluring prize to the restless and daring in- 
habitants of the steppes. 

The stories we have already told have much to say 
of the relations of China with the nomads of the 
north. Against these foes the Great Wall was built 
in vain, and ages of warfare passed before the armies 
of China succeeded in subduing and making tribu- 
tary the people of the steppes. We first hear of 
Tartar raids upon China in the reign of the emperor 
Muh Wang, in the tenth century B.C. As time went 
on, the tribes combined and fell in steadily greater 



230 HISTORICAL TALES. 

numbers upon the southern realm. Of these alli- 
ances of tribes the first known was named by Chinese 
historians the Heung Nou, or " detestable slaves/' 
Under its chiefs, called the Tanjous, it became very 
formidable, and for a thousand years continued a 
thorn in the side of the Chinese empire. 

The Tanjous were dominant in the steppes for 
some three hundred years, when they were over- 
thrown by a revolt of the tribes, and were succeeded 
by the Sienpi, who under their chiefs, the Topas, or 
" masters of the earth," grew formidable, conquering 
the northern provinces of China, which they held for 
a century and a half. Finally a slave of one of the 
Topa chiefs, at the head of a hundred outlaws, broke 
into revolt, and gathered adherents until the power 
of the Sienpi was broken, and a new tribe, the Geou- 
gen, became predominant. Its leader, Cehelun by 
name, extended his power over a vast territory, as- 
suming the title of Kagan, or Khan. 

The next revolt took place in the sixth century 
A.D., when a tribe of slaves, which worked the iron 
forges of the Altai Mountains for the Great Khan, 
rebelled and won its freedom. Growing rapidly, it 
almost exterminated the Geougen in a great battle, 
and became dominant over the clans. Thus first 
came into history the great tribe of the Turks, whose 
later history was destined to be so momentous. The 
dominion of the Khan of the Turks grew so enor- 
mously that in time it extended from Central Siberia 
on the north to Persia on the south, while he made 
his power felt by China on the east and by Eome on 
the west. Ambassadors from the Khan reached Con- 



THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS KHAN. 231 

stantinople, and Eoman envoys were received in re- 
turn in his tent at the foot of the Altai range. 

The Turks were the first of the nomad organiza- 
tions who made their power felt throughout the 
civilized world. On the eastern steppes other tribes 
came into prominence. The Khitans were supreme 
in this region from 900 to 1100 a.d., and made serious 
inroads into China. They were followed by the 
Kins, or Golden Tartars, a tribe of Manchu origin, 
who proved a terrible foe, conquering and long hold- 
ing a large section of Northern China. Then came 
the Mongols, the most powerful and terrible of all, 
who overthrew the Kins and became sole lords of 
the empire of the steppes. It is with the remark- 
able career of this Mongol tribe that we are here 
particularly concerned. 

The first of the Mongol chiefs whose name is pre- 
served was Budantsar, who conquered the district 
between the Onon and the Kerulon, the earliest 
known home of the Mongol race. His descendants 
ruled over the clan until about the year 1135, 
when the first step of rebellion of the Mongols from 
the power of the Kins took place. This was under 
Kabul, a descendant of Budantsar. The war with 
the Kins continued under later leaders, of whom 
Yissugei captured a powerful Tartar chief named 
Temujin. On returning home he learned that his 
wife had given birth to a son, to whom he gave his 
captive's name of Temujin. This child, born prob- 
ably in 1162 a.d., afterwards became the famous con- 
queror Genghis Khan. 

The birthplace of the future hero was on the 



232 HISTORICAL TALES. 

banks of the Onon. His father, chief over forty- 
thousand families, died when he was still young, and 
many of the tribesmen, refusing to be governed by 
a boy, broke loose from his authority. His mother, 
a woman worthy of her race, succeeded in bringing 
numbers of them back to their allegiance, but the 
young chief found himself at the head of but half 
the warriors who had followed his father to vic- 
tory. 

The enemies of Temujin little knew with whom 
they had to deal. At first misfortune pursued the 
youth, and he was at length taken prisoner by his 
enemies, who treated him with great indignity. He 
soon escaped, however, and rallied his broken forces, 
shrewdly baffling his foes, who sought to recapture 
him by a treacherous invitation to a feast. In the 
end they attacked Temujin in his own country, 
where, standing on the defensive, he defeated them 
with great loss. This victory brought the young 
chief wide renown, and so many allies gathered 
under his banner that he became a power in the 
steppes. " Temujin alone is generous and worthy of 
ruling a great people," was the decision in the tents 
of the wandering tribes. 

The subsequent career of the Mongol chief was 
one of striking vicissitudes. His power grew until 
the question of the dominion of the steppes rested 
upon a great battle between the Mongols and the 
powerful tribe of the Keraits. The latter won the 
victory, the Mongols were slain in thousands, and 
the power which Temujin had gained by years of 
effort was in a day overthrown. Nothing remained 



THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS KHAN. 233 

to him but a small band of followers, whose only- 
strength lay in their fidelity and discipline. 

Yet a man of the military ability of Temujin 
could not long remain at so low an ebb of fortune. 
In a brief time he had surprised and subdued the 
Keraits, and next met in battle the powerful confed- 
eracy of the Naimans, whom he defeated in a stub- 
born and long-contested battle. This victory made 
him the unquestioned lord of the steppes, over all 
whose inhabitants the Mongols had become supreme. 

And now Temujin resolved to indicate his power 
by some title worthy of the great position he had 
gained. All the Mongol chiefs were summoned to the 
grand council or Kuriltai of the tribe, and around the 
national ensign, composed of nine white yak-tails, 
planted in the centre of the camp, the warriors gath- 
ered to hear the opinion of their chief. It was pro- 
claimed to them that Temujin was not content with 
the title of Gur Khan, to which its former bearers 
had not given dignity, but would assume the title of 
Genghis Khan (Very Mighty Khan). It may be 
said here that there are almost as many spellings of 
this name as there are historians of the deeds of him 
that bore it. 

Genghis made princes of his two principal gen- 
erals, rewarded all other brave officers, and in every 
available way cemented to his fortunes the Mongol 
chiefs. He was now about forty-five years of age, 
yet, instead of being at the end, he was but little 
beyond the beginning of his career. The Kins, who 
had conquered Northern China, and whose ruler bore 
the proud title of emperor, were the next to feel the 



234 HISTORICAL TALES. 

power of his arms. The dominions of the king of 
Hia, a vassal of the Kin emperor, were invaded and 
his power overthrown. Genghis married his daugh- 
ter, made an alliance with him, and in 1210 invaded 
the territory so long held by the Kins. 

The Great Wall, which had so often proved use- 
less as a barrier of defence, failed to check the 
march of the great Mongol host, the chief who 
should have defended it being bribed to desert his 
charge. Through the opening thus offered the Mon- 
gols poured into the territory of the Kins, defeated 
them in every engagement in the field, overran the 
rich provinces held by them, and obtained a vast 
wealth in plunder. Yet the war was now waged 
against a settled and populous state, with strong 
walled cities and other fortified places, instead of 
against the scattered clans of the steppes, and, despite 
the many victories of the invading horde, it took 
twenty years of constant fighting to crush the Tartar 
emperor of Northern China. 

In truth, the resistance of the emperor of the 
Kins was far more stubborn and effective than that 
of the nations of the south and west. In 1218 
Genghis invaded Central Asia, conquered its oases, 
and destroyed Bokhara, Samarcand, and other cities. 
He next subjected the whole of Persia, while the 
westward march of the armies under his lieutenants 
was arrested only at the mountain barrier of Central 
Europe, all Eussia falling subject to his rule. In four 
years the mighty conqueror, having established his 
rule from Armenia to the Indus, was back again and 
ready to resume his struggle with the Kins of China. 



THE TARTARS AND GENGHIS KHAN. 235 

He found the kingdom of Hia in revolt, and in 
1225 assembled against it the largest army he had 
ever employed in his Chinese wars. His success was 
rapid and complete. The cities, the fortresses, the 
centres of trade, fell in rapid succession into his 
hands, and in a final great battle, fought upon the 
frozen waters of the Hoang-ho, the army of Hia was 
practically exterminated. This was the last great 
event in the life of Genghis Khan. He died in 1227, 
having by his ruthless warfare sent five millions of 
victims to the grave. With his last words he de- 
plored the wanton cruelty with which his wars had 
been fought, and advised his people to refrain in 
future from such sanguinary acts. 

Thus died, at the age of about sixty-five years, 
one of the greatest conquerors the world has known, 
the area of whose conquests vastly exceeded those 
of Csesar and Napoleon, and added to the empire 
won by Alexander a still greater dominion in the 
north. The Chinese said of him that "he led his 
armies like a god ;" and in truth as a military genius 
he has had no superior in the history of the world. 
The sphere of no other conqueror ever embraced so 
vast a realm, and the wave of warfare which he set 
in motion did not come to rest until it had covered 
nearly the whole of Asia and the eastern half of the 
European continent. Beginning as chief of the frag- 
ment of a tribe, he ended as lord of nearly half the 
civilized world, and dozens of depopulated cities told 
the story of his terrible career. He had swept over 
the earth like a tornado of blood and death. 



HOW THE FRIARS FARED 
AMONG THE TARTARS. 

The sea of Mongol invasion which, pouring in the 
thirteenth century from the vast steppes of Asia, 
overflowed all Eastern Europe, and was checked in its 
course only by the assembled forces of the German 
nations, filled the world of the West with inexpres- 
sible terror. For a time, after whelming beneath 
its flood Eussia, Poland, and Hungary, it was rolled 
back, but the terror remained. At any moment 
these savage horsemen might return in irresistible 
strength and spread the area of desolation to the 
western seas. The power of arms seemed too feeble 
to stay them; the power of persuasion, however, 
might not be in vain, and the pope, as the spiritual 
head of Europe, felt called upon to make an effort 
for the rescue of the Christian world. 

Tartar hordes were then advancing through Persia 
towards the Holy Land, and to these, in the forlorn 
hope of checking their course, he sent as ambassa- 
dors a body of Franciscan friars composed of Father 
Ascelin and three companions. It was in the year 
1246 that these papal envoys set out, armed with 
full powers from the head of the Church, but sadly 
deficient in the worldly wisdom necessary to deal 
with such truculent infidels as those whom they had 
been sent to meet. 
236 



HOW THE FRIARS FARED AMONG THE TARTARS. 237 

Ascelin and his comrades journeyed far through 
Asia in search of a Tartar host, and at length found 
one on the northern frontier of Persia. Into the 
camp of the barbarians the worthy Franciscan 
boldly advanced, announcing himself as an ambassa- 
dor from the pope. To his surprise, this announce- 
ment was received with contempt by the Tartars, 
who knew little and cared less for the object of his 
deep veneration. In return he showed his feeling 
towards the infidels in a way that soon brought his 
mission into a perilous state. 

He was refused an audience with the Mongol gen- 
eral unless he would perform the ko-tou, or three 
genuflections, an act which he and his followers re- 
fused as an idolatrous ceremonj- which would scan- 
dalize all Christendom. Finally, as nothing less 
would be accepted, they, in their wise heads, thought 
they might consent to perform the ko-tou, provided 
the general and all his army would become Chris- 
tians. This folly capped the climax. The Tartars, 
whom they had already irritated, broke into a vio- 
lent rage, loaded the friars with fierce invectives, and 
denounced them and their pope as Christian dogs. 

A council was called to decide what to do with 
these insulting strangers. Some suggested that the 
friars should be flayed alive, and their skins, stuffed 
with hay, sent to the pope. Others wished to keep 
them till the next battle with the Christians, and 
then place them in front of the army as victims to 
the god of war. A third proposition was to whip 
them through the camp and then put them to death. 
But Baithnoy, the general, had no fancy for delay, 



238 HISTORICAL TALES. 

and issued orders that the whole party should at once 
be executed. 

In this frightful predicament, into which Ascelin 
and his party had brought themselves, a woman's 
pity came to the rescue. Baithnoy's principal wife 
endeavored to move him to compassion ; but, finding 
him obdurate, she next appealed to his interest. To 
violate in this way the law of nations would cover 
him with disgrace, she said, and stay the coming of 
many who otherwise would seek his camp with 
homage and presents. She reminded him of the 
anger of the Great Khan when, on a former occa- 
sion, he had caused the heart of an ambassador to 
be plucked out and had ridden around the camp 
with it fastened to his horse's tail. By these argu- 
ments, reinforced with entreaties, she induced him 
to spare the lives of the friars. 

They were advised to visit the court of the Great 
Khan, but Ascelin had seen as much as he relished of 
Tartar courts, and refused to go a step farther ex- 
cept by force. He was then desired, as he had been 
so curious to see a Tartar army, to wait until their 
expected reinforcements arrived. He protested that 
he had seen enough Tartars already to last him the 
rest of his life ; but, despite his protest, he was de- 
tained for several months, during which the Tartars 
amused themselves by annoying and vexing their 
visitors. At length, after having been half starved, 
frequently threatened with death, and insulted in 
a hundred ways, they were set free, bearing letters 
to the pope ordering him to come in person and do 
homage to Genghis Khan, the Son of God. 



HOW THE FRIARS PARED AMONG THE TARTARS. 239 

At the same time that Ascelin set out for the south, 
another party, headed by John Carpini, S6 C out for 
the north, to visit the Tartars then in Russia. Here 
they were startled by the first act demanded of 
them, they being compelled to pass between two 
large fires as a purification from the suspicion of 
evil. On coming into the presence of Bathy, the gen- 
eral, they, more terrified perhaps than Ascelin, did not 
hesitate to fall upon their knees. To heighten their 
terrors, two of them were sent to the court of the 
Great Khan, in the heart of Tartary, the other two 
being detained on some pretext. The journey was 
a frightful one. With no food but millet, no drink 
but melted snow, pushing on at a furious speed, 
changing horses several times a day, passing over 
tracts strewn with human bones, and the weather 
through part of their journey being bitterly cold, 
they at length reached the court of the Mongols on 
July 22, 1246. 

They arrived at an interesting period. The elec- 
tion of Kujak, a new khan, was about to take place, 
and, in addition to great Tartar lords from all quar- 
ters of the Mongol empire, ambassadors from Eussia, 
Persia, Bagdad, India, and China were at hand with 
presents and congratulations. The assembled nobles, 
four thousand in all, dazzled Carpini with their pomp 
and magnificence. The coronation was attended 
with peculiar ceremonies, and a few days afterwards 
audience was given to the ambassadors, that they 
might deliver their presents. Here the friars were 
amazed at the abundance and value of the gifts, 
which consisted of satin cloths, robes of purple, silk 



240 HISTORICAL TALES. 

girdles wrought with gold, and costly skins. Most 
surprising of all was a " sun canopy" (umbrella) full 
of precious stones, a long row of camels covered 
with Baldakin cloth, and a " wonderful brave tent, 
all of red purple, presented by the Kythayans" 
(Chinese), while near by stood five hundred carts 
"all full of silver, and of gold, and of silk gar- 
ments." 

The friars were now placed in an embarrassing 
position by being asked what presents they had to 
give. They had so little that they thought it best to 
declare "that they were not of ability so to do." 
This failure was well received, and throughout their 
visit they were treated with great respect, the khan 
cajoling them with hints that he proposed publicly 
to profess Christianity. 

These flattering hopes came to a sudden end when 
the great Mongol ruler ordered the erection of a flag 
of defiance against the Eoman empire, the Christian 
Church, and all the Christian kingdoms of the "West, 
unless they would do homage to him ; and with this 
abrupt termination to their embassy they were dis- 
missed. After " travailing all winter long," sleeping 
on snow without shelter, and suffering other hard- 
ships, they reached Europe in June, 1247, where they 
were "rejoiced over as men that had been risen 
from death to life." 

Carpini was the first European to approach the 
borders of China, or Cathay, as it was then called, 
and the story he told about that mysterious empire 
of the East, gathered from the Tartars, was of much 
interest, and, so far as it went, of considerable ac- 



HOW THE FRIARS FARED AMONG THE TARTARS. 241 

curacy. He was also the first to visit the court of 
those terrible warriors who had filled the world with 
dismay, and to bring to Europe an account of their 
barbaric manners and customs. 

Shortly after (in 1253) a friar named Kubruquis, 
with two companions, was sent to Tartary by Louis 
IX. of France to search for Prester John, an imagi- 
nary Christian potentate supposed to reign in the 
centre of Asia, to visit Sartach, a Tartar chief also 
reported a Christian, and to teach the doctrines of 
Christianity to all the Tartars he should find. Eu- 
bruquis did his work well, and, while failing to find 
Prester John or to convert any of the Tartars, he 
penetrated to the very centre of the Mongol em- 
pire, visited Karakorum, the capital of the Great 
Khans, and brought back much valuable information, 
giving a clear, accurate, and intelligent account of the 
lands he had seen and the people he had met, with 
such news of distant China as he could obtain with- 
out actually crossing the Great Wall. 

After his visit information concerning these remote 
regions ceased until the publication of the remark- 
ably interesting book of Marco Polo, the first to 
write of China from an actual visit to its court. 
The story of his visit must be left for a later tale. 



16 



THE SIEGE OF SI ANYANG. 

In the year 1268 the army of Kublai Khan, grand- 
son of Genghis the famous conqueror, made its ap- 
pearance before the stronghold of Sianyang, an im- 
portant city of China on the southern bank of the 
Han Eiver. On the opposite side of the stream stood 
the city of Fanching, the two being connected by 
bridges and forming virtually a single city. Sian- 
yang, the capital of a populous and prosperous dis- 
trict, was the most important stronghold left to 
China, and its fall would be almost fatal to that 
realm. Hence Kublai, who had succeeded to the 
empire of the Kins in Northern China, and was bent 
on making the rest of that country his own, made 
his first move against this powerful city, which the 
Chinese prepared with energy to defend. In all the 
history of its wars China showed no greater courage 
and resolution than in the defence of this important 
place. 

The army of Kublai consisted of sixty thousand 
veterans of the Mongol wars, with a large body of 
auxiliary troops, an army large enough to occupy all 
the neighboring heights and form an intrenched 
camp around the city ten miles in length. This 
done, and all communication by land cut off, steps 
were taken to intercept all supplies sent by water. 
The Mongols had no vessels, but they set themselves 
242 



THE SIEGE OF SIANYANG. 243 

with their usual activity to build a fleet, and in a 
short time had launched upon the Han fifty junks 
larger than those used by the Chinese. 

Meanwhile Lieouwen Hoan, governor of the two 
cities, was strengthening their works and vigorously 
repelling every assault of his foes. The city was 
surrounded by thick and lofty walls and a deep 
fosse, was amply garrisoned, and was abundantly 
supplied with provisions, having food-supplies, it 
was said, sufficient "for a period of ten years." 
Thus provided, the gallant commandant, confident 
in his strength and resources, defied the efforts of 
the enemy. Threatened by the Mongols with mas- 
sacre if he should continue a vain defence, he re- 
torted by declaring that he would drag the rene- 
gade general in command of their troops in chains 
into the presence of the master to whom he had 
proved a traitor. 

, These bold words were sustained by brave deeds. 
All the assaults of the Mongols were valiantly re- 
pulsed, and, although their army was constantly re- 
inforced by fresh troops, the siege made very slow 
progress. The position of the besiegers was several 
times changed, their lines were here extended and 
there withdrawn, but all their efforts proved vain, 
they being baffled on every side, while the governor 
held out with unyielding fortitude. 

A flotilla of store-ships on the Han was met by 
the Mongol fleet and driven back with serious loss, 
but this success was of no great service to the be- 
siegers, since the cities were still well supplied. 
Thus for three years the siege went on, and it was 



244 HISTORICAL TALES. 

beginning to languish, when new spirit was given it 
by fresh preparations on the part of the two con- 
testants. Kublai, weary of the slow progress of his 
armies, resolved to press the siege with more vigor 
than ever, while the Chinese minister determined to 
do something for the relief of the garrison. . 

A large Chinese army was put into the field, but 
it was placed under the command of an incapable 
officer, whose dilatory movements promised little for 
the aid of the valiant defenders. Nothing would 
have been done had not abler and bolder spirits come 
to the assistance of the beleaguered host. Litingchi, 
governor of Ganlo, a town on the Han south of 
Sianyang, incensed by the tardy march of the army 
of relief, resolved to strike a prompt and telling 
blow. Collecting a force of three thousand men, 
from which he dismissed all who feared to take part 
in the perilous adventure, he laid his plans to throw 
into Sianyang this reinforcement, with a large con- 
voy of such supplies as he had learned that the 
garrison needed. 

The attempt was made successful through the 
valor of the Chinese troops. Several hundred ves- 
sels, escorted by the band of devoted warriors, sailed 
down a tributary of the Han towards Sianyang. 
The Mongols had sought by chains and other ob- 
stacles to close the stream, but these were broken 
through by the junks, whose impetuous advance had 
taken the besiegers by surprise. Eecovering their 
spirit, and taking advantage of the high ground 
above the stream, the Mongols soon began to regain 
the ground they had lost and to imperil the success 



THE SIEGE OF SIANYANG. 245 

of the expedition. Seeing this, and fearing the de- 
feat of the project, Changchun, at the head of one 
division of the escort of troops, devoted himself and 
his men to death for the safety of the fleet, charging 
so vigorously as to keep the Mongols fully occupied 
for several hours. This diversion gave the other 
Chinese leader an opportunity to push on to Sian- 
yang with the store-ships, where they were joy- 
fully received by the people, who for three years 
had been cut off from communication with the out- 
side world. 

So great were the excitement and joy of the gar- 
rison that they flung open the city gates, in bold 
defiance of their foes, or as if they thought that the 
Mongols must be in full retreat. Their enthusiasm, 
however, was somewhat dampened when the muti- 
lated body of the heroic Changchun came floating 
down the stream, in evidence of the continued pres- 
ence and barbarity of their foes. The work of rein- 
forcement done, Changkone, the other leader of the 
party of relief, who had succeeded in bringing to the 
garrison certain needed supplies, felt that he was not 
wanted within its walls. Outside, Litingchi was hov- 
ering near the enemy with a force of five thousand 
men, and the gallant admiral of the fleet resolved to 
cut his way out again and join this partisan band. 

Calling together his late followers, he extolled the 
glory they had won and promised them new fame. 
But in the midst of his address he perceived that 
one of the men had disappeared, and suspected that 
he had deserted to the Mongols with a warning of 
what was intended. Changkone, however, did not 



246 HISTORICAL TALES. 

let this check him in his daring purpose. Gathering 
the few war-junks that remained, he set sail that 
night, bursting through the chains that crossed the 
stream, and cutting his way with sword and spear 
through the first line of the Mongol fleet. 

Before him the river stretched in a straight and 
unguarded course, and it seemed as if safety had 
been won. But the early light of the dawning day 
revealed an alarming scene. Before the daring 
band lay another fleet, flying the Mongol flag, while 
thousands of armed foes occupied the banks of 
the stream. The odds were hopelessly against the 
Chinese, there was no choice between death and 
surrender, but the heroic Changkone unhesitatingly 
resolved to accept the former, and was seconded in 
his devotion by his men. Dashing upon the Mon- 
gol fleet, they fought on while a man was left to bend 
bow or thrust spear, continuing the struggle until 
the blood of the whole gallant band reddened the 
waters of the stream. The Mongol leader sent the 
body of Changkone into the city, either as a threat 
or as a tribute of admiration. It was received with 
loud lamentations, and given a place in burial beside 
that of Changchun, his partner in the most gallant 
deed that Chinese history records. 

This incident, while spurring the garrison to new 
spirit in their defence, roused the Mongols to a more 
resolute pressure of the siege. As yet they had 
given their attention mainly to Sianyang, but now 
they drew their lines around Fanching as well. The 
great extent of the Mongol dominion is shown by 
the fact that they sent as far as Persia for engineers 



THE SIEGE OF SIANYANG. 247 

skilful in siege- work and accustomed to building and 
handling the great catapults with which huge stones 
were flung against fortified places in the warfare of 
that age. By the aid of these powerful engines many 
of the defences of Sianyang were demolished and the 
bridge between the two cities was destroyed. 

This done, the siege of Fanching was vigorously 
pressed, and, after a severe bombardment, an assault 
in force was made. Despite the resolute resistance 
of the garrison, the walls were forced, and the 
streets became the scene of a fierce and deadly fight. 
From street to street, from house to house, the 
struggle continued, and when resistance had become 
utterly hopeless the Chinese officers, rather than 
surrender, slew themselves, in which they were imi- 
tated by many of their men. It was a city of ruins 
and slaughtered bodies that the Mongols had won. 

The engines were now all directed against the 
fortifications of Sianyang, where the garrison had 
become greatly dispirited by the fall of Fanching 
and the failure of the army of relief to appear. 
Lieouwen Hoan still held out, though he saw that 
his powers of defence were nearly at an end, and 
feared that at any moment the soldiers might refuse 
to continue what seemed to them a useless effort. 

Kublai at this juncture sent him the following 
letter : " The generous defence you have made dur- 
ing five years covers you with glory. It is the duty 
of every faithful subject to serve his prince at the 
expense of his life ; but in the straits to which you 
are reduced, your strength exhausted, deprived of 
succor, and without hope of receiving any, would it 



248 HISTORICAL TALES. 

be reasonable to sacrifice the lives of so many brave 
men out of sheer obstinacy ? Submit in good faith, 
and no harm shall come to you. We promise you 
still more, and that is to provide all of you with 
honorable employment. You shall have no grounds 
for discontent : for that we pledge you our imperial 
word." 

This letter ended the struggle. After some hesi- 
tation, Lieouwen Hoan, incensed at the failure of 
the army to come to his relief and at the indiffer- 
ence of the emperor to his fate, surrendered, and 
thenceforth devoted to the service of Kublai the 
courage and ability of which he had shown such 
striking evidence in the defence of Sianyang. 



THE DEATH-STRUGGLE OF 
CHINA. 

Never in its history has China shown such un- 
yielding courage as it did in its resistance to the 
invasion under Kublai Khan. The city of Sianyang 
alone held back the tide of Mongol success for full 
five years. After its' fall there were other strong- 
holds to be taken, other armies to be fought, and for 
a number of years the Chinese fought desperately 
for their native land. But one by one their fortified 
cities fell, one by one their armies were driven back 
by the impetuous foe, and gradually the conquest of 
Southern China was added to that of the north. 

Finally the hopes of China were centred upon a 
single man, Chang Chikie, a general of unflinching 
zeal and courage, who recaptured several towns, and, 
gathering a great fleet, said to have numbered no 
fewer than two thousand war -junks, sailed up the 
Yang-tse-Kiang with the purpose of attacking the 
Mongol positions below Nanking. The fleet of the 
Mongols lay at that point where the Imperial Canal 
enters the Kiang on both sides. Here the stream is 
wide and ample and presents a magnificent field for 
a naval battle. 

The attack of the Chinese was made with reso- 
lution and energy, but the Mongol admiral had pre- 
pared for them by sending in advance his largest 

249 



250 HISTORICAL TALES. 

vessels, manned with bowmen instructed to attach 
lighted pitch to their arrows. The Mongol assault 
was made before the Chinese fleet had emerged from 
the narrow part of the river, in which comparatively 
few of the host of vessels could be brought into 
play. The flaming arrows set on fire a number of 
the junks, and, though the Chinese in advance fought 
bravely, these burning vessels carried confusion and 
alarm to the thronging vessels in the rear. Here 
the crews, unable to take part in the fight and their 
crowded vessels threatened with the flames, were 
seized with a fear that soon became an uncontrol- 
lable panic. The result was disastrous. Of the great 
fleet no less than seven hundred vessels were cap- 
tured by the Mongols, while a still greater number 
were burnt or sunk, hardly a fourth of the vast 
armament escaping from that fatal field. 

The next events which we have to record take us 
forward to the year 1278, when the city of Canton 
had been captured by the Mongol troops, and scarcely 
a fragment of the once great empire remained in the 
hands of the Chinese ruler. 

The incompetent Chinese emperor had died, and 
the incapable minister to whose feebleness the fall 
of Sianyang was due had been dismissed by his mas- 
ter and murdered by his enemies. The succeeding 
emperor had been captured by the Mongols on the 
fall of the capital. Another had been proclaimed 
and had died, and the last emperor of the Sung dy- 
nasty, a young prince named Tiping, was now with 
Chang Chikie, whose small army constituted his only 
hope, and the remains of the fleet his only empire. 



THE DEATH-STRUGGLE OF CHINA. 251 

The able leader on whom the last hopes of the Chi- 
nese dynasty now rested selected a natural strong- 
hold on an island named Tai, in a natural harbor 
which could be entered only with a favorable tide. 
This position he made the most strenuous efforts to 
fortify, building strong works on the heights above 
the bay, and gathering troops until he had an army 
of nearly two hundred thousand men. 

So rapidly did he work that his fortifications were 
completed before the Mongol admiral discovered his 
locality. On learning what had been done, the Mon- 
gols at once hurried forward reinforcements and 
prepared for an immediate and vigorous assault on 
this final stronghold of the empire of China. The 
attack was made with the impetuous courage for 
which the Mongols had become noted, but the works 
were bravely held, and for two days the struggle 
was maintained without advantage to the assailants. 
On the third day the Mongol admiral resumed his 
attack, and a fiercely contested battle took place, end- 
ing in the Chinese fleet being thrown into confusion. 
The result would have been utterly disastrous had 
not a heavy mist fallen at this opportune moment, 
under cover of which Chang Chikie, followed by 
sixteen vessels of his fleet, made his way out to sea. 

The vessel which held the young emperor was less 
fortunate. Caught in the press of the battle, its 
capture was inevitable, and with it that of the last 
emperor of the Sung dynasty. In this desperate 
emergency, a faithful minister of the empire, re- 
solved to save the honor of his master even at the 
sacrifice of his life, took him in his arms and leaped 



252 HISTORICAL TALES. 

with him into the sea. This act of desperation was 
emulated by many of the officers of the vessel, and 
in this dramatic way the great dynasty of the Sung 
came to an end. 

But the last blow for the empire had not been 
struck so long as Chang Chikie survived. With him 
had escaped the mother of the drowned prince, and 
on learning of his loss the valiant leader requested 
her to name some member of the Sung family to 
succeed him. But the mother, overwhelmed with 
grief at the death of her son, was in no mood to listen 
to anything not connected with her loss, and at 
length, hopeless and inconsolable, she put an end to 
her own existence by leaping overboard from the 
vessel's side. 

Chang Chikie was left alone, with the destinies of 
the empire dependent solely upon him. Yet his high 
courage sustained him still ; he was not ready to ac- 
knowledge final defeat, and he sailed southward in 
the double hope of escaping Mongol pursuit and of 
obtaining means for the renewal of the struggle. 
The states of Indo-China were then tributary to the 
empire, and his small fleet put in to a port of Ton- 
quin, whose ruler not only welcomed him, but aided 
him to refit his fleet, collect stores, and enlist fresh 
troops. 

Thus strengthened, the intrepid admiral resolved 
to renew the war without delay, his project being 
to assault Canton, which he hoped to take by a sud- 
den attack. This enterprise seemed desperate to his 
followers, who sought to dissuade him from what 
might prove a fatal course ; but, spurred on by his 



THE DEATH-STRUGGLE OF CHINA. 253 

own courage and a hope of retrieving the cause of 
the Sungs, he persisted in his purpose, and the fleet 
once more returned to the seas. 

It was now 1279, a year after Tiping's death. The 
Mongols lay in fancied security, not dreaming that 
there was in all China the resolution to strike an- 
other blow, and probably unsuspicious that a fleet 
was bearing down upon one of their captured ports. 
What would have been the result had Chang Chikie 
been able to deliver his attack it is impossible to say. 
He might have taken Canton by surprise and cap- 
tured it from the enemy, but in any event he could 
not have gained more than a temporary success. 

As it was, he gained none. Fate had destined the 
fall of China, and the elements came to the assistance 
of its foes. A sudden and violent tempest fell upon 
the fleet while near the southern headland of the 
Kwantung coast, hurling nearly or quite all the ves- 
sels on the shore or sinking them beneath the waves. 
The bold leader had been counselled to seek shelter 
from the storm under the lee of the shore, but he re- 
fused, and kept on despite the storm, daring death in 
his singleness of purpose. 

" I have done everything I could," he said, " to 
sustain the Sung dynasty on the throne. When one 
prince died I had another proclaimed. He also has 
perished, and I still live. Should I be acting against 
thy decrees, Heaven, if I sought to place a new 
prince on the throne ?" 

It appeared so, for the winds and the waves gave 
answer, and the last defender of China sank to death 
beneath the sea. The conquest of China was thus 



254 HISTORICAL TALES. 

at length completed after seventy years of resist- 
ance against the most valorous soldiers of the world, 
led by such generals as Genghis, Kublai, and other 
warlike Mongol princes. In view of the fact that 
Genghis had overrun Southern Asia in a few years, 
this long and obstinate resistance of China, despite 
the incompetence of its princes and ministers, places 
in a striking light the great military strength of the 
empire at that period of its history. 



I 
> 

z 

O 
I 
> 




THE PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN. 

In the middle of the thirteenth century two emi- 
nent Venetian merchants, Mcolo and Matteo Polo, 
of noble birth and adventurous spirit, left their 
native city for a long journey to the Bast, their pur- 
poses being those of ordinary travel and also of 
barter, for which they took with them a stock of 
jewels, as the commodity of most worth with least 
weight. Visiting Constantinople and several Eussian 
cities, they journeyed to the capital of the khan of 
Kaptchak, where they remained three years, trading 
and studying the Mongol language. Subsequently 
they met in Bokhara a Persian ambassador on the 
way to the court of Kublai Khan, and were per- 
suaded to keep him company as far as Kambalu (the 
modern Peking), the capital of the Mongol emperor 
of Cathay, or China. 

Their journey led them through Samarcand, Cash- 
gar, and other cities of the far East, a whole year 
passing before they reached the capital of the great 
potentate, by whom they were graciously received. 
Kublai asked them many questions about their 
country, and was very curious about the pope, to 
whom he in the end sent them as ambassadors, bid- 
ding them return to him with a hundred Europeans 
learned in the arts and sciences, for the instruction 

255 



256 HISTORICAL TALES. 

of his people. They reached Venice in 1269, after 
an absence of fifteen years. 

In 1271 they set out again for China, bearing de- 
spatches from the pope, but without the learned Eu- 
ropeans they were to bring. Marco, the young son of 
Nicolo, accompanied them on their journey, which oc- 
cupied three and a half years. Kublai, though he had 
nearly forgotten their existence, received them as gra- 
ciously as before, and was particularly pleased with 
young Marco, giving him a high office and employing 
him on important missions throughout the empire. 
In truth, he took so strong a fancy to his visitors that 
they were not suffered to leave China for years, and 
finally got away in 1291 only as escort to a Mongol 
princess who was sent as a bride to Persia. 

Twenty- four years had elapsed from the time they 
left Yenice before they appeared in that city again. 
They were quite forgotten, but the wealth in pre- 
cious stones they brought with them soon freshened 
the memory of their relatives, and they became the 
heroes of the city. Marco took part in a war then 
raging with Genoa, was taken prisoner, and long lay 
in a dungeon, where he dictated to a fellow-prisoner 
the story of his adventures and the wonderful things 
he had seen in the dominions of the Great Khan 
of Cathay. This was afterwards published as " II 
Milione di Messer Marco Polo Veneziano," and at 
once gained a high reputation, which it has pre- 
served from that day to this. Though long looked 
on by many as pure fable, time has proved its essen- 
tial truth, and it is now regarded as the most valu- 
able geographical work of the Middle Ages. 



THE PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN. 257 

We cannot undertake to give the diffuse narrative 
of Marco Polo's book, but a condensed account of a 
few of his statements may prove of interest, as show- 
ing some of the conditions of China in this middle 
period of its existence. His description of the great 
palace of Kublai, near his capital city of Kambalu, 
much the largest royal residence in the world, is of 
sufficient interest to be given in epitome. The palace 
grounds included a great park, enclosed by a wall 
and ditch eight miles square, with an entrance gate 
midway of each side. Within this great enclosure 
of sixty-four square miles was an open space a mile 
broad, in which the troops were stationed, it being 
bounded on the interior by a second wall six miles 
square. This space, twenty-eight square miles in 
area, held an army of more than a hundred thou- 
sand men, nearly all cavalry. 

Within the second wall lay the royal arsenals and 
the deer-park, with meadows and handsome groves, 
and in the interior rose a third wall of great thick- 
ness, each side of which was a mile in length, while 
its height was twenty-five feet. This last enclosure, 
one square mile in area, contained the palace, which 
reached from the northern to the southern wall and 
included a spacious court. Though its roof was 
very lofty, it was but one story in height, standing 
on a paved platform of several feet elevation, from 
which extended a marble terrace seven feet wide, 
surrounded by a handsome balustrade, which the 
people were allowed to approach. 

Carved and gilt dragons, figures of warriors and 
animals, and battle-scenes ornamented the sides of 

17 



258 HISTORICAL TALES. 

the great hall and the apartments, while the roof 
was so contrived that only gilding and painting were 
to be seen. On each side of the palace a grand flight 
of marble steps ascended to the marble terrace which 
surrounded the building. The interior contained an 
immense hall, capable of serving as a banqueting- 
room for a multitude of guests, while the numerous 
chambers were all of great beauty and admirably 
arranged. 

The roof on the exterior was painted red, green, 
azure, and violet, the colors being highly durable, 
while the glazing of the windows was so neatly done 
that they were transparent as crystal. In the rear 
of the palace were arranged the treasure-rooms, 
which contained a great store of gold and silver 
bullion, pearls and precious stones, and valuable 
plate. Here also were the family apartments of the 
emperor and his wives. Opposite the grand palace 
stood another, very similar in design, where dwelt his 
eldest son, the heir to the throne. 

On the north side, between the palace and the 
adjoining wall, rose an artificial mound of earth, a 
hundred paces high and a mile in circuit at its base. 
Its slopes were planted with beautiful evergreen 
trees, which had been transported thither, when 
well grown, by the aid of elephants. This perpetual 
verdure gave it the appropriate name of the Green 
Mount. An ornamental pavilion crowned the sum- 
mit, which, in harmony with the sides, was also made 
green. The view of the mount, with its ever-verdant 
trees and the richly decorated building on its sum- 
mit, formed a scene delightful to the eyes of the em- 



THE PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN. 259 

peror and the other inmates of the palace. This hill 
still exists, and is yet known by its original title of 
Kinshan, or the Green Mount. 

The excavation made to obtain the earth for the 
mount was filled with water from a small rivulet, 
forming a lake from which the cattle drank, its over- 
flow being carried by an aqueduct along the foot 
of the Green Mount to fill another great and very 
deep excavation, made in the same manner as the 
former. This was used as a fish-pond, containing 
fish in large variety and number, sufficient to keep 
the table of the emperor constantly supplied. Iron 
or copper gratings at the entrance and exit pre- 
vented the escape of the fish along the stream. The 
pond was also stocked with swans and other aquatic 
birds, and a bridge across its width led from one 
palace to the other. 

Such was the palace. The city was correspond- 
ingly great and prosperous, and had an immense 
trade. A thousand pack-horses and carriages laden 
with raw silk daily entered its gates, and within 
its workshops a vast quantity of silk and gold tis- 
sues was produced. As Hoangti made himself fa- 
mous by the Great Wall, so Kublai won fame by the 
far more useful work of the Great Canal, which was 
largely due to his fostering care, and has ever since 
been of inestimable value to China, while the Wall 
never kept out a Tartar who strongly desired to get 
over its threatening but useless height. 

Having said so much about the conditions of pal- 
ace and capital, it may be of interest to extract from 
Polo's narrative some account of the method pur- 



260 HISTORICAL TALES. 

sued in war during Kublai's reign. The Venetian 
attended a campaign made by the emperor against 
one of his kinsmen named Nayan, who had under 
him so many cities and provinces that he was able 
to bring into the field an army of four hundred 
thousand horse. His desire for sovereignty led him 
to throw off his allegiance, the more so as another 
rebel against the Grand Khan promised to aid him 
with a hundred thousand horsemen. 

News of this movement soon reached Kublai, and 
he at once ordered the collection of all the troops 
within ten days' march of Kambalu, amounting in 
all to four hundred and sixty thousand men. By 
forced marches these were brought to Nayan's terri- 
tory in twenty-five days, reaching there before the 
rebel prince had any warning of their approach. 
Kublai, having given his army two days' rest, and 
consulted his astrologers, who promised him victory, 
marched his army up the hill which had concealed 
them from the enemy, the great array being suddenly 
displayed to the astonished eyes of Nayan and his 
men. 

Kublai took his station in a large wooden castle, 
borne on the backs of four elephants, whose bodies 
were protected with coverings of thick leather hard- 
ened by fire, over which were spread housings of 
cloth of gold. His army was disposed in three grand 
divisions, each division consisting of ten battalions 
of horsemen each ten thousand strong, and armed 
with the great Mongol bow. The right and left di- 
visions were disposed so as to outflank the army of 
Nayan. In front of each battalion were stationed 



THE PALACE OF KUBLAI KHAN. 261 

five hundred infantry, who, whenever the cavalry 
made a show of flight, were trained to mount behind 
them, and to alight again when they returned to the 
charge, their duty being to kill with their lances the 
horses of the enemy. 

As soon as the order of battle was arranged, wind 
instruments of various kinds and in great numbers 
were sounded, while the host of warriors broke into 
song, as was the Tartar practice before engaging in 
battle. The battle began with a signal from the cym- 
bals and drums, the sound of the instruments and the 
singing growing deafening. At the signal both wings 
advanced, a cloud of arrows filling the air, while on 
both sides numbers of men and horses fell. Their 
arrows discharged, the warriors engaged in close 
combat with lances, swords, and iron-shod maces, 
while the cries of men and horses were such as to 
inspire terror or rouse all hearers to the battle-rage. 

For a long time the fortune of the day remained 
undecided, ISTayan's people fighting with great zeal 
and courage. But at length their leader, seeing that 
he was almost surrounded, attempted to save himself 
by flight. He was made prisoner, however, and 
brought before Kublai, who ordered him to be put 
to death on the spot. This was done by enclosing 
him between two carpets, which were violently 
shaken until the spirit departed from the body, the 
dignity of the imperial family requiring that the 
sun and the air should not witness the shedding of 
the blood of one who belonged to the royal stock. 

These extracts from the narrative of the Venetian 
traveller may be fitly followed by a portion of 



262 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Coleridge's remarkable dream-poem on the subject 
of Kublai's palace. The poet, having been reading 
from "Purchas's Pilgrimage" a brief description of 
the palace of the Great Khan, — not the one above 
described, but a pleasure-retreat in another section 
of his dominions, — fell asleep, and his dreams took 
the form of an extended poem on the subject. On 
waking he hastened to write it down, but was inter- 
rupted by a visitor in the midst of his task, and 
afterwards found himself unable to recall another 
line of the poem, only a shadowy image of which 
remained in his mind. The part saved is strangely 
imaginative. 

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan 
A stately pleasure-dome decree, 

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran 

Through caverns measureless to man 
Down to a sunless sea. 
So twice five miles of fertile ground 
With walls and towers were girdled round ; 
And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills, 
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ; 
And here were forests ancient as the hills, 
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. 

But oh ! that deep romantic chasm which slanted 

Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover ! 

A savage place ! as holy and enchanted 

As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted 

By woman wailing for her demon lover ! 

And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething, 

As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing, 

A mighty fountain momently was forced, 

Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst 



THE PALACE OF KTTBLAI KHAN. 263 

Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail, 
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail ; 
And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever 
It flung up momently the sacred river. 
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion 
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran, 
Then reached the caverns measureless to man, 
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean : 
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far 
Ancestral voices prophesying war. 



THE EXPULSION OF THE 
MONGOLS. 

While the descendants of Kublai Khan, the Mon- 
gol emperor, still held the reins of power in China, 
there was born in humble life in that empire a boy 
upon whose shoulders fortune had laid the task of 
driving the foreigners from the soil and restoring to 
the Chinese their own again. Tradition says that at 
his birth the room was several times filled with a 
bright light. However that be, the boy proved to 
be gifted by nature with a fine presence, lofty views, 
and an elevated soul, qualities sure to tell in the 
troubled times that were at hand. When he was 
seventeen years of age the deaths of his father and 
mother left him a penniless orphan, so destitute of 
means that he felt obliged to take the vows of a 
priest and enter the monastery of Hoangkiose. But 
the country was now in disorder, rebels were in 
the field against the Mongol rule, and the patriotic 
and active-minded boy could not long endure the 
passive life of a bonze. Leaving the monastery, he 
entered the service of one of the rebel leaders as a 
private soldier, and quickly showed such enterprise 
and daring that his chief not only made him an 
officer in his force but gave him his daughter in 
marriage. 

The time was ripe for soldiers of fortune. The 
264 



THE EXPULSION OF THE MONGOLS. 265 

mantle of Kublai had not fallen on the shoulders of 
any of his successors, who proved weak and degen- 
erate monarchs, losing the firm hold which the 
great conqueror had kept upon the realm. It was 
in the year 1345 that Choo Yuen Chang, to give the 
young soldier his full name, joined the rebel band. 
Chunti, one of the weakest of the Mongol monarchs, 
was now upon the throne, and on every side it was 
evident that the empire of Kublai was in danger of 
falling to pieces under this incapable ruler. Fortune 
had brought its protege into the field at a critical 
time. 

Choo was not long in proving himself " every inch 
a soldier." Wherever he fought he was victorious. 
In a year's time he had under him seven hundred 
men of his own enlistment, and was appointed the 
lieutenant of his chief. Soon after the latter died, 
and Choo took his place at the head of the rebel 
band. In it enlisted another young man, Suta by 
name, who was before many years to become China's 
greatest general and the bulwark of a new dynasty. 

Choo was now able to prove his powers on a larger 
scale. One of his first exploits was the capture of 
the town of Hoy an, where he manifested a high 
order of courage and political wisdom in saving the 
inhabitants from rapine by his ill-paid and hungry 
soldiers. Here was a degree of self-restraint and 
power of command which none of the Chinese 
leaders had shown, and which seemed to point out 
Choo as the man destined to win in the coming 
struggle for a rejuvenated China. 

Meanwhile a rival came into the field who for a 



266 HISTORICAL TALES. 

time threw Choo's fortunes into the shade. This 
was a young man who was offered to the people as a 
descendant of the dynasty of the Sungs, the em- 
perors whom the Mongol invaders had dethroned. 
His very name proved a centre of attraction for the 
people, whose affection for the old royal house was 
not dead, and they gathered in multitudes beneath 
his banner. But his claim also aroused the fear of 
the Mongols, and a severe and stubborn struggle set 
in, which ended in the overthrow of the youthful 
Sung and the seeming restoration of the Mongol 
authority. Yet in reality the war had only cleared 
the way for a far more dangerous adversary than the 
defeated claimant of the throne. 

Masked by this war, the strength and influence of 
Choo had steadily grown, and in 1356 he made a 
daring and masterly move in the capture of the city 
of Nanking, which gave him control of some of the 
wealthiest provinces of the land. Here he showed 
the same moderation as before, preserving the citi- 
zens from plunder and outrage, and proving that his 
only purpose was to restore to China her old native 
government. With remarkable prudence, skill, and 
energy he strengthened his position. " The time has 
now come to drive the foreigners out of China," he 
said, in a proclamation that was scattered far and 
wide and brought hosts of the young and daring to 
his ranks. Elsewhere the so-called Chinese patriots 
were no better than brigands, all the horrors of war 
descending upon the districts they occupied and the 
cities which fell into their hands. But where Choo 
ruled discipline and security prevailed, and as far as 



THE EXPULSION OF THE MONGOLS. 267 

his power reached a firm and orderly government 
existed. 

Meanwhile the Mongols had a host of evils with 
which to contend. Eebel leaders had risen in various 
quarters, some of them making more progress than 
Choo, but winning the execration rather than the 
love of the people by their rapine and violence. On 
the contrary, his power grew slowly but surely, 
various minor leaders joining him, among them the 
pirate Fangkue Chin, whose exploits had made him 
a hero to the people of the valley of the Kiang. 
The events of the war that followed were too many 
to be here detailed. Suffice it to say that the diffi- 
culties of the Mongol emperor gradually increased. 
He was obliged to meet in battle a Mongol pre- 
tender to his throne; Corea rose in arms and de- 
stroyed an army sent to subdue it ; and Chahan 
Timour, Chuntrs ablest general, fell victim to an 
assassin. Troubles were growing thick around his 
throne. 

In the year 1366, Choo, after vanquishing some 
leaders who threatened his position, among them his 
late pirate ally Fangkue Chin, saw that the time had 
arrived for a vigorous effort to expel the foreign 
rulers, and set out at the head of his army for a 
general campaign, at the same time proclaiming to 
the people that the period was at hand for throwing 
off the Mongol yoke, which for nearly a century had 
weighed heavily upon their necks. Three armies 
left Nanking, two of them being sent to subdue three 
of the provinces of the south, a result which was 
achieved without a blow, the people everywhere 



268 HISTORICAL TALES. 

rising and the Mongol garrisons vanishing from 
sight, — whether by death or by flight history fails to 
relate. The third army, under Suta. Choo's favorite 
general, marched towards Peking, the Mongol gar- 
risons, discouraged by their late reverses, retreating 
as it advanced. 

At length the great Mongol capital was reached. 
Within its walls reigned confusion and alarm. 
Chunti, panic-stricken at the rapid march of his 
enemies, could not be induced to fight for his last 
hold upon the empire of China, but fled on the night 
before the assault was made. Suta at once ordered 
the city to be taken by storm, and though the 
Mongol garrison made a desperate defence, they 
were cut down to a man, and the victorious troops 
entered the Tartar stronghold in triumph. But 
Suta, counselled by Choo to moderation, held his 
army firmly in hand, no outrages were permitted, 
and the lives of all the Mongols who submitted were 
spared. 

The capture of Peking and the flight of Chunti 
marked the end of the empire of the Mongols in 
China. War with them still went on, but the country 
at large was freed from their yoke, after nearly a 
century of submission to Tartar rule. Elsewhere 
the vast empire of Genghis still held firm. Eussia 
lay under the vassalage of the khans. Central and 
Southern Asia trembled at the Mongol name. And 
at the very time that the Chinese were rising against 
and expelling their invaders, Timour, or Tamerlane, 
the second great conqueror of his race, was setting 
out from Central Asia on that mighty career of vie- 



THE EXPULSION OF THE MONGOLS. 269 

tory that emulated the deeds of the founder of the 
Mongol empire. Years afterwards Timour, after 
having drowned Southern Asia in a sea of blood, re- 
turned to Samarcand, where, in 1415, he ordered the 
collection of a great arm} 7 for the invasion of China, 
with which he proposed to revenge the wrongs of 
his compatriots. The army was gathered ; it began 
its march; the mountains of Khokand were reached 
and passed ; threats of the coming danger reached 
and frightened China; but on the march the grim 
old conqueror died, and his great expedition came to 
an end. All that reached China to represent the 
mighty Timour was his old war-horse, which was 
sent as a present four years afterwards when an em- 
bassy from Central Asia reached Peking. 

With the fall of the Mongols in China the native 
rule was restored, but not with it the old dynasty. 
Choo, the conqueror, and a man whose ability and 
nobleness of mind had been remarkably displayed, 
was everywhere looked upon as the Heaven-chosen 
successor to the throne, the boy who had begun his 
career as a penniless orphan having risen through 
pure power of intellect and loftiness of soul to the 
highest position in the realm. He was crowned em- 
peror under the title of Hongwou, and instituted the 
Ming dynasty, which held the throne of China until 
three centuries afterwards, when another strange 
turn in the tide of affairs again overthrew Chinese 
rule and brought a new dynasty of Tartar emperors 
to the throne. 

As regards the reign of Hongwou, it may here be 
said that he proved one of the ablest monarchs 



270 HISTORICAL TALES. 

China ever knew, ruling his people with a just and 
strong hand, and, by the aid of his able general Suta, 
baffling every effort of the Mongols to regain their 
lost dominion. Luxury in the imperial adminis- 
tration was brought to an end, the public money 
was used for its legitimate purpose, and even some 
of the costly palaces which the Mongol emperors 
had built were destroyed, that the people might learn 
that he proposed to devote himself to their good 
and not to his own pleasure. Steps were taken for 
the encouragement of learning, the literary class 
was elevated in position, the celebrated Hanlin Col- 
lege was restored, and the great book of laws was 
revised. Schools were opened everywhere, orphan- 
ages and hospitals were instituted, and all that could 
be was done for the relief of the sick and the poor. 

All this was performed in the midst of bitter and 
unceasing wars, which for nearly twenty years kept 
Suta almost constantly in the field. The Mongols 
were still strong in the northwest, Chungti continued 
to claim imperial power, and the army was kept 
steadily employed, marching from victory to victory 
under the able leadership of Suta, who in his whole 
career scarcely learned the meaning of defeat. His 
very appearance on the field on more than one oc- 
casion changed the situation from doubt to victory. 
In time the Mongols were driven beyond the Great 
Wall, the ex-emperor died, and the steppes were in- 
vaded by a great army, though not a successful one, 
Suta meeting here his first and only reverse. The 
war ended with giving the Chinese full control of 
all the cultivated country, while the Tartars held 



THE EXPULSION OF THE MONGOLS. 271 

their own in the desert. This done, Stita returned 
to enjoy in peace the honors he had won, and soon 
after died, at the age of fifty-four years, thirty of 
which had been spent in war. 

The death of the great general did not leave China 
free from warlike commotion. There were rebellious 
risings both in the south and in the north, but they all 
fell under the power of Hongwou's victorious arms, 
the last success being the dispersal of a final Mon- 
gol raid. The closing eight years of the emperor's 
reign were spent in peace, and in 1397 he died, after 
an administration of thirty years, in which he had 
freed China from the last dregs of the Mongol 
power, and spread peace and prosperity throughout 
the realm. 



THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS. 

Twice had a Tartar empire been established in 
China, that of the Kin dynasty in the north, and 
that of their successors, the Mongols, over the whole 
country. A third and more permanent Tartar dy- 
nasty, that of the Manchus, was yet to come. With 
the striking story of the rise and progress of these 
new conquerors we are now concerned. 

In the northeast of China, beyond the Great Wall 
and bordering on Corea, lies the province of Liau- 
tung. Northward from this to the Amur Eiver 
extends the eastern section of the steppes, known 
on modern maps as Manchuria. From these broad 
wilds the Kins had advanced to their conquest of 
Northern China. To them they fled for safety from 
the Mongol arms, and here lost their proud name of 
Kin and resumed their older and humbler one of 
Niuche. For some five centuries they remained here 
unnoticed and undisturbed, broken up into numerous 
small clans, none of much strength and importance. 
Of these clans, which were frequently in a state of 
hostility to one another, there is only one of interest, 
that of the Manchus. 

The original seat of this small Tartar clan lay not 

far north of the Chinese border, being on the Soodsu 

Eiver, about thirty miles east of the Chinese city of 

Moukden. Between the Soodsu and Jiaho streams, 

272 



THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS. 273 

and south of the Long White Mountains, lies the 
valley of Hootooala, a location of rugged and pic- 
turesque scenery. This valley, protected on three 
sides by water and on the fourth by a lofty range of 
mountains, the whole not more than twelve miles 
long, formed the cradle of the Manchu race, the 
narrow realm from which they were to emerge to 
victory and empire. In a certain respect it resembled 
the native home of the Mongols, but was far smaller 
and much nearer the Chinese frontier. 

In this small and secluded valley appeared, about 
the middle of the fourteenth century, when the em- 
peror Hongwou was fighting with the Mongols, a 
man named Aisin Gioro. Tradition attributes to him 
a miraculous birth, while calumny asserts that he was 
a runaway Mongol ; but at any rate he became lord 
of Hootooala and ancestor of its race of conquerors. 
Five generations from him came a chief named Huen, 
who ruled over the same small state, and whose grand- 
son, jS'oorhachu by name, born in 1559, was the man 
upon whom the wonderful fortunes of the Manchus 
were to depend. Like many other great conquerors, 
his appearance predicted his career. u He had the 
dragon face and the phoenix eye ; his chest was enor- 
mous, his ears were large, and his voice had the tone 
of the largest bell." 

He began life like many of the heroes of folk-lore, 
his step-mother, when he was nineteen years of age, 
giving him a small sum of money and turning him 
out into the world to seek his fortune. She repented 
afterwards, and bade him come home again or accept 
further aid, but the proud youth refused to receive 

18 



274 HISTORICAL TALES. 

from her any assistance, and determined to make his 
own way in the world. 

Noorhachu first came into notice in 1583. In that 
year Haida, chief of a small district south of Hoo- 
tooala, made an attack, assisted by the Chinese, 
on some neighboring clans. One of these was gov- 
erned by a relative of the old Manchu chief Huen, 
who, with his son and a small force, hurried to his 
aid and helped him to defend his town. Haida and 
his allies, finding the place too strong for them, en- 
ticed a part of the garrison outside the walls, and 
then fell upon and treacherously massacred them. 
Among the slain were Huen and his son. 

This brutal murder left ISToorhachu chief of his 
clan, and at the same time filled him with a fierce 
desire for revenge, both upon Haida and upon the 
Chinese. He was forced to bide his time, Haida 
gaining such influence with his allies that he was 
appointed by them chief of all the Niuche districts. 
This act only deepened the hatred of Noorhachu, 
who found himself made one of the vassals of the 
murderer, while many of his own people left him 
and attached themselves to the fortunes of Haida. 

Fortunately for the youthful chief, the Chinese 
did not strongly support their nominee, and Noor- 
hachu pursued his rival so persistently that the 
assassin did not feel safe even within his stockaded 
camp, but several times retreated for safety into 
Liautung. The Chinese at length, tired of support- 
ing a man without the courage to defend himself, 
seized him and handed him over to Noorhachu, who 
immediately put him to death. 



THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS. 275 

The energy and success of Noorhachu in this 
scheme of vengeance gave him a high reputation 
among the Muche. He was still but twenty-seven 
years of age, but had probably laid out his life-work, 
that of making himself chief of a ISTiuche confeder- 
acy, and employing his subjects in an invasion of 
Chinese soil. It is said that he had sworn to revenge 
his father's death by the slaughter of two hundred 
thousand Chinese. 

He began by building himself a stronghold. Se- 
lecting a site in the plain where water was abundant, 
he built a town and surrounded it with a triple wall. 
This done, he began the work of uniting the southern 
clans under his sway, a task which proved easy, they 
being much impressed by his victory over Haida. 
This peaceful progress was succeeded by a warlike 
movement. In 1591 he suddenly invaded the dis- 
trict of Yalookiang, which, taken by surprise, was 
forced to submit to his arms. 

This act of spoliation roused general apprehension 
among the chiefs. Here was a man who was not 
satisfied with petty feuds, but evidently had higher 
objects in view. Eoused by apprehension of danger, 
seven of the neighboring chiefs gathered their forces, 
and with an army of thirty thousand Niuche and 
Mongols invaded the territory of the daring young 
leader. The odds against him seemed irresistible. 
He had but four thousand men to oppose to this 
large force. But his men had been well chosen and 
well trained, and they so vigorously resisted the 
onset of the enemy that the principal Niuche chief 
was killed and the Mongol leader forced to flee. At 



276 HISTORICAL TALES. 

this juncture Noorhachu charged his foes with such 
vigor that they were broken and put to flight, four 
thousand of them being slain in the pursuit. A 
number of chiefs were taken prisoners, while the 
spoils included several thousand horses and plaited 
suits of armor, material of great value to the am- 
bitious young victor. 

Eight years passed before Noorhachu was ready 
for another move. Then he conquered and annexed 
the fertile district of Hada, on the north. In 1607 
he added to this the state of Hwifa, and in the fol- 
lowing year that of Woola. These conquests were 
preliminary to an invasion of Yeho, the most power- 
ful of the Niuche states. His first attack upon 
this important district failed, and before repeating 
it he deemed it necessary to show his strength by 
invading the Chinese province of Liautung. He had 
long been preparing for this great enterprise. He had 
begun his military career with a force of one hundred 
men, but had now an army forty thousand strong, 
well drilled and disciplined men, provided with en- 
gines of war, and of a race famed for courage and 
intrepidity. Their chief weapon consisted of the 
formidable Manchu bow T , while the horsemen wore 
an armor of cotton-plaited mail which was proof 
against arrow or spear. The invasion was preceded 
by a list of grievances drawn up against the Chinese, 
which, instead of forwarding it to the Chinese court, 
Noorhachu burnt in presence of his army, as an ap- 
peal to Heaven for the justice of his cause. 

The Chinese had supinely permitted this danger- 
ous power to grow up among their tributaries on 



THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS. 277 

the north. In truth, the Ming dynasty, which had 
begun with the great Hongwou, had shared the fate 
of Chinese dynasties in general, having fallen into 
decadence and decay. With a strong hand at the 
imperial helm the Manchu invasion, with only a 
thinly settled region to draw on for recruits, would 
have been hopeless. With a weak hand no one could 
predict the result. 

In 1618 the Manchus crossed their southern fron- 
tier and boldly set foot on the soil of China, their 
movement being so sudden and unexpected that the 
border town of Fooshun was taken almost without 
a blow. The army sent to retake it was hurled back 
in defeat, and the strong town of Tsingho was next 
besieged and captured. The progress of Xoorhachu 
was checked at this point by the clamor of his men, 
who were unwilling to march farther while leaving 
the hostile state of Yeho in their rear. He there- 
fore led them back to their homes. 

The Chinese were now thoroughly aroused. An 
army of more than one hundred thousand men was 
raised and sent to attack Noorhachu in his native 
realm. But it was weakly commanded and un- 
wisely divided into three unsupported sections, 
which the Manchus attacked and routed in detail. 
The year's work was completed by the conquest and 
annexation of Yeho, an event which added thirty 
thousand men to Noorhachu's resources and com- 
pleted the confederation of the Niuche clans, which 
had been his original plan. 

The old Chinese emperor was now near his life's 
end. But his last act was one of his wisest ones, it 



278 HISTORICAL TALES. 

being the appointment of Tingbi, a leader of skill 
and resolution, to the command in Liautung. In a 
brief time this energetic commander had placed the 
capital and the border towns of the province in a 
state of defence and collected an army of one hun- 
dred and eighty thousand men on the frontier. Two 
years sufficed to make the province impregnable 
to Manchu attack. During this period of energy 
Noorhachu wisely remained quiet. But the Chinese 
emperor died, and was succeeded by his son, who 
quickly followed him to the grave. His grandson, a 
boy of sixteen, succeeded, and the court enemies of 
Tingbi now had him recalled and replaced by a man 
who had never seen a battle. 

The result was what might have been expected. 
Noorhachu, who had been waiting his opportunity, 
at once led his army across the borders (1621), 
marching upon the strong tow T n of Moukden, whose 
commandant, more brave than wise, left the shelter 
of his walls to meet him in the field. The result was 
a severe repulse, the Manchus entering the gates with 
the fugitives and slaughtering the garrison in the 
streets. Three armies were sent to retake Moukden, 
but were so vigorously dealt with that in a few 
weeks less than half Tingbi's strong army remained. 
Liauyang, the capital of the province, was next be- 
sieged and taken by storm, the garrison falling al- 
most to a man, among them Tingbi's incapable suc- 
cessor meeting his death. No further resistance 
was made, the other towns, with one exception, 
opened their gates, and in a brief time ISToorhachu 
completed the conquest of the province of Liautung. 



THE RISE OF THE MANCHUS. 279 

Only one thing kept the Manchus from crossing 
the Great Wall and invading the provinces beyond. 
This was the stronghold of Ningyuen, which a Chi- 
nese officer named Chungwan had reinforced with a 
small party, and which resolutely resisted all assaults. 
Noorhachu, not daring to leave this fortified place 
in his rear, besieged it with a strong army, making 
two desperate assaults upon its walls. But Chung- 
wan, assisted by some European cannon, whose noise 
proved more terrible to the Manchus than their balls, 
held out so vigorously that for the first time in 
his career the Manchu chief met with defeat. Dis- 
appointed and sick at heart, he retraced his steps to 
Moukden, then his capital, there to end his career, 
his death taking place in September, 1626. 

Such was the adventurous life of the man who, 
while not conquering China himself, made its con- 
quest possible to his immediate successors, who ac- 
knowledged his great deeds by giving him the post- 
humous title of Emperor of China, the Manchu dy- 
nasty dating its origin back to 1616. His son, Tai- 
tsong, who succeeded him, renewed the attack on 
Ningyuen, but found the heroic Chungwan more 
than his match. A brilliant idea brought him final 
success. Leaving the impregnable stronghold in his 
rear, he suddenly marched to the Great Wall, which 
he crossed, and was far on the road to Peking be- 
fore Chungwan knew of his purpose. At once aban- 
doning the town, the Chinese general hurried south- 
ward, and, having the best road, succeeded in reach- 
ing the capital in advance of the Manchus. But he 
came only to his death. Tingbi, the one man feared 



280 HISTORICAL TALES. 

by Noorhachu, had been executed through the ma- 
chinations of his enemies, and now Chungwan suff- 
ered the same fate, Taitsong, not being able to defeat 
him in the field, having succeeded in forming a plot 
against him in the palace. 

But Peking, though in serious peril, was not taken. 
A truce was arranged, and Taitsong drew off his 
troops — for reasons best known to himself. He 
was soon back in China, but did not again attack 
Peking, devoting himself to raids through the bor- 
der provinces. In 1635 he assumed the title of Em- 
peror of China, in consequence of the seal of the 
Mongol dynasty, which had been lost in Mongolia 
two centuries before, being found and sent to him. 
But Ningyuen still held out, under an able successor 
to Chungwan, and in September, 1643, this second 
of the Manchu leaders came to his death. The con- 
quest of China was reserved for a later leader. 



o 

I 
z 
m 



> 



"■"*. . ^^ __ _ - ^. .,..,. ..-.., ,,._^.,., .. . ,.:! 






-sa^l &■»** 




j 4h| - L • 


I r- ^ ks e^ i 




I :^^>*| 


iHfr • 4 ^ 




' ' v^*1tBL WppP^^H^ Wl 


^3 ' " - -| 


P ■»■■■• v ^~*s —-|jj; 




imijt— ttfriSlill ^jd£M$$m^ 










THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF 
CHINA. 

Long years of misgovern ment in China produced 
their natural result. Evils stalked abroad while 
worthless emperors spent their days in luxury at 
home. The land ceased to be governed, local rebel- 
lions broke out in a dozen quarters, and the Manchu 
invasion was but one event in the series of difficul- 
ties that environed the weakened throne. From the 
midst of these small rebellions emerged a large one 
before which the Ming dynasty trembled to its fall. 
Its leader, Li Tseching, was a peasant's son, who 
had chosen the military career and quickly gained 
renown as a daring horseman and skilful archer. 
In 1629 he appeared as a member of a band of rob- 
bers, who were defeated by the troops, Li being one 
of the few to escape. A year afterwards we hear of 
him as high in rank in a rebel band 'almost large 
enough to be called an army. The leader dying 
after a few years, Li succeeded him in command. 

His progress to power was rapid, cunning and du- 
plicity aiding him, for often when in a dangerous sit- 
uation he escaped by pretending a desire to come to 
terms with the authorities. Other rebels rose, won 
victories, and sank again ; but Li held his own and 
steadily grew stronger, until, in 1640, he was at the 
head of an army of nearly half a million of men 

281 



282 HISTORICAL TALES. 

and in a position to aspire to the throne of Peking 
itself. Town after town fell into his hands, frightful 
outrages being perpetrated in each, for Li was a 
brigand in grain and merciless at heart. The efforts 
of the emperor to overthrow him proved futile, the 
imperial army being sent against him in four divi- 
sions, which he attacked and defeated in detail. The 
court had learned nothing from the failure of simi- 
lar tactics in the war with Noorhachu. After this 
pronounced success Li laid siege to Kaifong, an im- 
portant city which had once been the capital of 
China. He was twice repulsed, but a third time re- 
turned to the siege, finally succeeding through a rise 
in the Hoang-ho, which washed away the defences of 
the city, drowned thousands of its people, and left 
it at the mercy of the besieging troops. 

Li's next effort was made against the city of Tun- 
kwan, the most formidable of Chinese fortresses. 
Situated in the mountains between the provinces of 
Honan and Shensi, it was strong by position, while 
the labor of centuries had added enormously to its 
strength. Here fortune aided him, his army follow- 
ing into the city a fugitive force which had been 
beaten outside. By this time the rebel chief had 
made himself so dreadful a record by the massacres 
and outrages committed in conquered cities that ter- 
ror began to fill the minds of garrisons, and towns 
and cities opened their gates to him without ven- 
turing resistance. 

No longer a mere rebel chief, but master of more 
than a third of China, and feared through all the 
rest, Li now assumed the title of emperor, and, cap- 



THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA. 283 

turing every stronghold as he advanced, began his 
march upon Peking, then a scene of unimaginable 
terror and confusion. The emperor, who had hesi- 
tated to flee, found flight impossible when Li's great 
army invested the capital. Defence was equally im- 
possible, and the unhappy weakling, after slaying all 
the women of the palace, ended the career of the 
Ming dynasty by hanging himself. Li was quickly 
master of the city, where the ancestral temple of the 
Mings was plundered and levelled with the ground, 
and all the kinsmen of the royal family he could 
seize w<ere summarily put to death. Thus was com- 
pleted the first phase of a remarkable career, in 
which in a few years the member of a band of rob- 
bers became master of the most populous empire 
of the earth. The second phase was to be one of a 
decline in fortune still more rapid than had been 
the growth of the first. And with it is connected 
the story of the Manchu invasion and conquest of 
China. 

We have seen in the preceding tale how the heroic 
Chungwan held the fortress of Ningyuen against all 
the efforts of Noorhachu, the Manchu chief. After 
his death Wou Sankwei, a man of equal valor and 
skill, repelled Taitsong and his Manchus from its 
walls. This city, with the surrounding territory, 
was all of Northern China that had not submitted to 
Li, who now made earneet efforts by lavish promises 
to win Wou over to his side. But in the latter he 
had to deal with a man who neither feared nor 
trusted him, and to whose mind it seemed prefer- 
able that even the Tartars should become lords of 



284 HISTORICAL TALES. 

the empire than that it should be left to the mercy 
of a brutal robber like Li Tseching. 

Wou's position was a delicate and difficult one. 
The old dynasty was at an end. Those loyal to it 
were powerless. He had no means of his own en- 
abling him to contend against the great force of Li. 
He must surrender or call in foreigners to his aid. 
In this dilemma he made overtures to the Manchus, 
asking their aid to put down the rebellion and re- 
store tranquillity to the empire, — seemingly with the 
thought that they might be dispensed with when no 
longer of use. 

Not for a moment did the Manchu leaders hesitate 
to avail themselves of the promising offer. The man 
who for years had stood resolutely in the way of their 
invasion of China was now voluntarily stepping from 
their path, and even offering them his aid to ac- 
complish their cherished project. The powerful for- 
tresses which had defied their strength, the Great 
Wall which in Wou's hands might have checked 
their progress, had suddenly ceased to be obstacles 
to their advance, and throughout the camps and 
towns of the Tartars an enthusiastic response was 
made to the inspiriting cry of " On to Peking !" 

Wou Sankwei did not wait for their coming. Li 
had sent a strong force to meet him, with instructions 
either to negotiate or to fight. Wou chose the latter, 
and delivered battle with such energy and success 
that more than twenty thousand of the opposing force 
were laid in death upon the field, no quarter being 
given to the flying host. -News of this perilous re- 
verse roused Li to vigorous action. Knowing nothing 



THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA. 285 

of the approach of a Tartar army, he imagined that 
he had only Wou with whom to deal, and marched 
against him in person with sixty thousand men, the 
pick of his victorious army. 

This large force, perhaps three times the number 
that the loyal leader could put in the field, reached 
Wou's station on the river Lanho before the van- 
guard of the Manchus had appeared. It was obvi- 
ously Wou's policy to defer the action, but Li gave 
him no opportunity, making at once an impetuous 
attack, his line being formed in the shape of a cres- 
cent, with the design of overlapping the flanks of the 
foe. Skilled and experienced as Wou was, the small- 
ness of his force made him unable to avoid this move- 
ment of his enemy, who, from a hill where he had 
taken his station to overlook the battle, had the satis- 
faction of seeing the opposing army completely sur- 
rounded by his numerous battalions. Wou and his 
men fought with desperate courage, but it was evi- 
dent that they could not long hold out against such 
odds. Fortunately for them, at this critical moment 
a strong Manchu corps reached the field, and at once 
made a furious charge upon the nearly victorious 
troops. This diversion caused a complete change in 
the situation. Li's troops, filled with terror at the 
vigorous and unexpected assault, broke and fled, pur- 
sued by their foes with such bloodthirsty fury that 
thirty thousand of them w T ere slain. Li escaped with 
a few hundred horsemen from the disastrous field 
which was to prove the turning-point in his career. 

The delayed Manchus soon after appeared in num- 
bers, and Wou lost no time in following up his signal 



286 HISTORICAL TALES. 

success. Peking was quickly reached, and there, on 
the eastern ramparts, the victor was greeted with 
the spectacle of his father's head on the wall, Li 
having thus wreaked what vengeance he could upon 
his foe. It was an unwise act of ferocity, since it 
rendered impossible any future reconciliation with 
his opponent. 

Li made no effort to defend the city, but fled pre- 
cipitately with all the plunder he could convey. 
Wou, marching round its walls, pressed hard upon 
his track, attacking his rear-guard in charge of 
the bulky baggage-train, and defeating it with the 
slaughter of ten thousand troops. Li continued to 
retreat, collecting the garrisons he had left in various 
cities as he fled, until, feeling strong enough to hazard 
another battle, he took his stand near the city of 
Chingtung. Wou did not hesitate to attack. Eighty 
thousand Manchus had joined him, and abundant 
Chinese levies had raised his forces to two hundred 
thousand men. The battle was fierce and obstinate, 
Li fighting with his old skill and courage, and night 
closed without giving either party the victory. But 
under cover of the darkness the rebel leader, having 
lost forty thousand men, including some of his ablest 
officers, deemed it necessary to resume his retreat. 

The remainder of Li's career may be briefly told. 
Wou followed him with unyielding persistency, 
fighting at every opportunity and being always the 
victor in these encounters. This rapid flight, these 
repeated defeats, at length so discouraged the rebel 
troops that on Li's making a final stand they re- 
fused to fight, and insisted on coming to terms 



THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA. 287 

with their pursuer. Finding that all was at an 
end, Li fled to the neighboring mountain region 
with a small body of men, and there returned to the 
robber state from which he had emerged. But his 
foe was implacable ; pursuit was kept up, his band 
lost heavily in various encounters, and at length, 
while on a foraging trip in search of food, he was 
surprised in a village by a superior force. A sharp 
combat followed, in which Li was the first to fall, 
and his head was carried in triumph to the nearest 
mandarin. 

Thus ended the career of a remarkable man. 
Whatever the Chinese thought of the Manchus, they 
could not but detest the cruel bandit whom they 
supplanted, and who, but for their aid and the cour- 
age of a single opponent, would have placed himself 
upon the throne of China. 

Wou Sankwei, having rid himself of his great 
enemy, now became anxious for the departure of his 
allies. But he soon found that they had no intention 
of leaving Peking, of which they were then in full 
control. At their head was Taitsong's young son, 
still a child, yet already giving evidence of much 
sagacity. His uncle, Prince Dorgan, — or Ama Wang 
(Father Prince), as his nephew called him, — was 
made regent, and hastened to proclaim the youth 
emperor of China, under the name of Chuntche. 
Every effort was made to obtain the support of Wou 
Sankwei : honors and titles were conferred upon 
him, and the new government showed such moder- 
ation and sound judgment in dealing with the peo- 
ple as to win him to its support, — especially as no 



288 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Chinese candidate for the throne appeared whose 
ability promised to equal that of the young Manchu 
prince. 

The Manchus, indeed, were far from being rulers 
of the kingdom as yet. They held only a few prov- 
inces of the north, and a prince of the late native 
dynasty had been set up in the south, with his capi- 
tal at Nanking. Had he been a capable ruler, with 
qualities suited to call Wou Sankwei to his sup- 
port and enlist the energies of the people, the tide 
of Manchu conquest would very probably have been 
stayed. But he proved worthless, and Nanking 
was soon in the hands of his foes, its officials being 
spared, but required to shave their heads, — the shaved 
head and the pigtail of the modern Chinaman being 
the badge of submission to Tartar supremacy. 

A succession of new emperors was set up, but all 
met the same fate, and in the end the millions of 
China fell under the Manchu yoke, and the ancient 
empire was once more subjected to Tartar rule. The 
emperor Chuntche died young, and his son, Kanghi, 
came to the throne when but nine years of age. He 
was destined to reign for more than sixty years and 
to prove himself one of the best and greatest of the 
emperors of China. 

We cannot close without a mention of the final 
events in the career of Wou Sankwei, to whom 
China owed her Manchu dynasty. Thirty years 
after he had invited the Manchus into the country, 
and while he was lord of a large principality in the 
south, he was invited by the emperor to visit Peking, 
an invitation which he declined on the plea of old 



THE MANCHU CONQUEST OF CHINA. 289 

age, though really because he feared that Tartar 
jealousy of his position and influence lay behind it. 
Envoys were sent to him, whom he treated with 
princely courtesy, though he still declined to visit 
the court, and plainly stated his reasons. The per- 
sistence of the emperor at length drove him into re- 
bellion, in which he was joined by others of the 
Chinese leaders, and for a time the unwisdom of 
Kanghi in not letting well enough alone threatened 
his throne with disaster. One by one, however, 
Wou's allies were put down, until he was left alone 
to keep up the war. The Manchus hesitated, how- 
ever, to attack him, knowing well his great mili- 
tary skill. But disunion in his ranks did what the 
Tartar sword could not effect. Many of his ad- 
herents deserted him, and the Chinese warrior who 
had never known defeat was brought to the brink 
of irretrievable disaster. From this dilemma death 
extricated him, he passing away at the head of his 
men without the stigma of defeat on his long career 
of victory. In the end his body was taken from the 
tomb and his ashes were scattered through the eigh- 
teen provinces of China, to testify that no trace 
remained of the man whom alone the Manchus had 
wooed and feared. 



19 



THE CAREER OF A DESERT 
CHIEF. 

In looking upon a modern map of the empire of 
China, it will be seen to cover a vast area in Asia, 
including not only China proper but the wide plains 
of Mongolia and the rock-bound region of Thibet. 
Yet no such map could properly have been drawn 
two hundred years ago. Thibet, while a tributary 
realm, was not then a portion of China, while the 
Mongolian herdsmen were still the independent war- 
riors and the persistent enemies of China that they 
had been from time immemorial. It is to the Man- 
chu emperors that the subjection of these countries 
and their incorporation in the Chinese empire are due. 
To-day the far-reaching territory of the steppes, the 
native home of those terrible horsemen who for ages 
made Europe and Asia tremble, is divided between 
the two empires of China and Eussia, and its rest- 
less hordes are held in check by firm and powerful 
hands, their period of conquest at an end. 

It was to two of the Manchu monarchs, Kanghi 
and Keen Lung, — whose combined reigns covered 
more than a hundred and twenty years, — that the 
subjection of these long turbulent regions was due, 
enabling China to enter the nineteenth century with 
the broad territorial expanse now marked on our 
maps. The story of how the subjection of the 
290 



THE CAREER OF A DESERT CHIEF. 291 

nomads came about is a long one, much too long 
for the space at our command, yet a brief synopsis 
of its leading events will prove of interest and im- 
portance to all who desire to follow the successive 
steps of Chinese history. 

Kanghi, the second Manchu emperor, and one of 
the greatest of the rulers of China, having completed 
the conquest of the Chinese themselves, turned his 
attention to the nomadic hordes who threatened the 
tranquillity of his reign. He was one of their own 
race, a man of Tartar blood, and many of the desert 
tribes were ready to acknowledge his supremacy, 
among them the Khalkas, who prided themselves 
on direct descent from Ghengis and his warriors, 
but had lost all desire to rule the earth and were 
content to hold their own among the surrounding 
tribes. They dwelt on those streams which had 
watered the birthplace of the Mongol tribe, and their 
adhesion to the Manchu cause kept all the Mongols 
quiet. 

But west of these dwelt another nomad race, the 
Calmucks, divided into four hordes, of which the 
Eleuths were by no means content to yield to Chinese 
or Manchu control. Their independence of spirit 
might have been of little importance but that it was 
sustained by an able and ambitious leader, who not 
only denied Kanghi's supremacy but disputed with 
him the empire of the steppes. 

Galdan was the younger son of the most powerful 
chief of his tribe. Pull of ambition, and chafing at 
the subordinate position due to his birth, he quarrelled 
with some of his brothers and killed one of them. 



292 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Being forced to flee, he made his way to Thibet, 
where he sought to obtain admission to the ranks of 
the Buddhist clergy, but was refused by the Dalai 
Lama on account of his deed of blood. But on his 
return to the tents of his tribe he found himself in 
a new position. His crime was forgotten or con- 
doned, and the fact that he had dwelt in the palace 
and under the holy influence of the Dalai Lama, the 
supreme religious power in Buddhist Asia, gave him 
a high standing among his fellow-tribesmen. The 
influence thus gained and his boldness and ruthless- 
ness completed the work he had in mind. The ruling 
khan was deposed, all members of his family whose 
hostility was feared by Galdan were slain, and he 
found himself at the head of the tribe, whose mem- 
bers were terrified into submission. 

His thirst for power now showed itself in en- 
croachments upon the lands of neighboring clans. 
The Manchus were at that time embarrassed by the 
rebellion of Wou Sankwei, and the opportunity 
seemed excellent for an invasion of the district of 
the Khalkas, firm friends of the Manchu power. 
He also sent troops towards the Chinese frontier, 
fear of whom forced many of the tribesmen to cross 
the border and seek the emperor's aid. Kanghi 
could then only give them lands within his realm, 
being too much occupied at home to be able to do 
more than send spies into the steppes. From these 
he learned that Galdan had built up a formidable 
power and that he evidently had in view the subjec- 
tion of all the tribes. 

Kanghi, anxious to settle these difficulties ami- 



THE CAREER OF A DESERT CHIEF. 293 

cably, spent a number of years in negotiations, but 
his rival showed as much ability in diplomacy as 
in the field, and succeeded in masking his designs 
while he was strengthening his position and pre- 
paring for open hostilities. Finally, with an army of 
thirty thousand men, he invaded the country of the 
Khalkas, and in 1690 took his first open step of hos- 
tility against China, by arresting the envoys who 
had been sent to his camp. This insult put an end 
to all Kanghi's efforts to maintain peace. The dip- 
lomatic movements were followed by a display of 
military energy and activity, and the whole northern 
army, consisting of the eight Manchu Banners, the 
forty-nine Mongol Banners, and a large force of 
Chinese auxiliaries, was set in motion across the 
steppes. 

Meanwhile Galdan, alarmed by the hostility he had 
provoked, sought to make an alliance with the Eus- 
sians, an effort which brought him hollow promises 
but no assistance. Without waiting for the coming 
of all his foes, he made a vigorous attack on the 
Chinese advance force and drove it back in defeat, 
remaining master of the field. Yet, recognizing that 
the enemy was far too strong for him, he sent an 
envoy to Peking, offering concessions and asking for 
peace. The emperor listened, but the army pushed 
on, and an attack in force was made upon the Eleuth 
camp, which was located at the foot of a mountain, 
between a wood and a stream. The post was a strong 
one, and the Eleuths fought stubbornly, but they 
were too greatly outnumbered, and in the end were 
put to flight, after having inflicted severe loss on 



294 HISTORICAL TALES. 

their foes, an uncle of the emperor being among the 
slain. Galdan now, finding that the war was going 
against him, offered fealty and obedience to the em- 
peror, which Kanghi, glad to withdraw his army from 
its difficult position in the desert, accepted, sending 
the chieftain a letter of forgiveness. Thus ended the 
campaign of 1690. 

It was a truce, not a peace. Galdan's ambition re- 
mained unsatisfied, and Kanghi put little confidence 
in his promises. He was right : the desert chief oc- 
cupied himself in sowing the seeds of dissension 
among the hordes, and in 1693, finding the Dalai 
Lama his opponent, took the step of professing 
himself a Mohammedan, in the hope of gaining the 
assistance of the Mussulman Tartars and Chinese. 
Yet he kept up negotiations with the Dalai Lama, 
with the purpose of retaining the Buddhist support. 
Meanwhile conflicts between the tribes went on, and 
in 1695 Kanghi, incensed at the constant encroach- 
ments of the ambitious chief, which failed to sustain 
his peaceful professions, resolved to put an end to 
the trouble by his complete and irretrievable over- 
throw. 

The despatch of a large army into the recesses 
of Central Asia was a difficult and hazardous enter- 
prise, yet it seemed the only means of ending the 
strained situation, and by 1696 a large force was got 
ready for a protracted desert war, the principal 
command being given to a frontier soldier named 
Feyanku, who in the preceding troubles had shown 
marked ability. 

On the eve of the great national holiday of China, 



THE CAREER OP A DESERT CHIEF. 295 

the Feast of Lanterns, the imperial court reviewed 
a section of the army, drawn up in military array 
along the principal street of Peking. The emperor, 
surrounded by the principal functionaries of the 
government, occupied a throne on a raised platform 
from which the whole scene could be surveyed, while 
strains of martial music filled the air. The culmi- 
nating scene in the ceremony took place when Fe- 
yanku approached the throne, received on his knees 
from the emperor's hand a cup of wine, and retired 
down the steps, at whose foot he quaffed the wine 
amid the shouts of thousands of spectators. This 
ceremony was repeated with each of the subordinate 
generals, and then with the lower officers of the 
army, ten at a time. Success being thus drunk to 
the army, Feyanku left the capital to assume the 
active command in the field, while Kanghi, bent on 
complete success, set to work to recruit in all haste 
a second army, which he proposed to command him- 
self. 

The whole force raised was an immense one, con- 
sidering the character of the country to be traversed 
and the limited resources of the enemy. It marched 
in four divisions, of which that under Feyanku num- 
bered about thirty-five thousand men. Despite the 
great distance to be traversed, the desert-like con- 
dition of much of the country, and the fact that de- 
ficiency of resources cost thousands of lives and 
forced many detachments to retreat, a powerful 
force at length reached the borders of Galdan's ter- 
ritory. After a march of more than three months* 
duration Feyanku pitched his camp ne$r the sources 



296 HISTORICAL TALES. 

of the Tula, his army being reduced to twelve thou- 
sand available men. These were placed in a forti- 
fied position within the Mongol camping-ground of 
Chowmodo. 

Meanwhile how was Galdan engaged? He had 
sought, but in vain, to win the alliance of a power- 
ful Mongol tribe, and had conducted fruitless nego- 
tiations with the Eussians of Siberia. His only 
remaining hope lay in the desert barrier which lay 
between him and his great enemy, and this vanished 
when the Chinese army made its appearance in his 
territories, though its success had been gained at a 
frightful loss of life. The situation of the desert 
chief had become desperate, his only hope lying in 
an attack on the advance body of the Chinese before 
it could be joined by the other detachments, and 
while exhausted by its long march across the desert 
of Gobi. He therefore made a rapid march and 
vigorously assailed the Chinese intrenchments at 
Chowmodo. 

In the interval the Chinese commanders had found 
themselves in a perilous position. Their supplies 
had run low, they could not be replenished in that 
situation, farther advance had become impossible, 
and it seemed equally impossible to maintain their 
position. Eetreat seemed their only means of ex- 
tricating themselves from their dilemma, and the 
question of doing so was under discussion when the 
sudden assault of Galdan happily relieved Feyanku 
from a situation which threatened the loss of his 
military renown. Of the battle that followed we 
know only that Feyanku remained on the defensive 



THE CAREER OF A DESERT CHIEF. 297 

and sustained Galdan's attacks for three hours, when 
he gave the signal for a charge. The wearied 
Eleuths soon broke before the determined onset, a 
disordered flight began, and Galdan, seeing that the 
day was lost, fled with a small body of followers, 
leaving his camp and baggage to the victors and 
two thousand of his men dead on the field. 

This victory ended the war. Kanghi, on hearing 
of it, returned to Peking, having sent word to Fe- 
yanku to pursue Galdan with unrelenting vigor, 
there being no security while he remained at large. 
The recent powerful chief was now at the end of 
his resources. He fled for safety from camp to 
camp. He sent an envoy to Peking with an abject 
offer to surrender. He made new overtures to the 
Eussians, and sought in a dozen ways to escape from 
his implacable enemies. But Feyanku kept up the 
pursuit, ceasing only when word came to him that 
the fugitive was dead. Anxiety, hardships, chagrin, 
or, as some say, the act of his own hand, had car- 
ried off the desert chief, and relieved the emperor 
of China from the peril and annoyance which had so 
long troubled him. 

In Galdan died a man who, under more fortunate 
circumstances, might have emulated some of the 
famous Tartar chiefs, a warrior of the greatest skill, 
courage, and daring, a " formidable enemy" to the 
Chinese empire, and one who, had the government 
of that empire been as weak as it proved strong, 
might have gathered all the nomads under arms and 
overthrown the dynasty. 

A few words must suffice to end the story of the 



298 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Eleuths. The death of Galdan did not bring them 
to submission, and years afterwards we find them 
hostile to Chinese rule, and even so daring as to in- 
vade Thibet, which Kanghi had added to his empire, 
they taking its central city of Lhassa, and carrying 
to the steppes a vast wealth in spoil. Eventually 
they were subjected to Chinese rule, but before this 
took place an event of much interest occurred. The 
Tourguts, an adjoining Calmuck tribe, were so im- 
perilled by the enmity of the Eleuths that they 
took the important resolution of migrating to Eussia, 
marching across the Kirghiz steppes and becoming 
faithful subjects of the czar, who gave them a new 
abiding-place on the banks of the Volga. Many 
years afterwards, in 1770, this tribe, inspired by a 
strong desire to return to their own home, left the 
Volga and crossed Asia, despite all efforts to check 
their flight, until they reached again their native 
soil. For the interesting story of this adventurous 
flight see " Historical Tales — Kussian." 



THE RAID OF THE GOORKHAS. 

During the past two and a half centuries the great 
empire of China has been under foreign rule, its 
emperors, its state officials, its generals and trusted 
battalions, being of Tartar blood, and the whole 
nation being forced to wear, in the shaved head 
and pigtail of every man from the highest to the 
lowest, a badge of servitude. The firm position 
gained by the Manchu dynasty was largely due to 
the ability of two emperors, Kanghi and Keen Lung, 
who stamped out the spirit of rebellion in China, 
added Thibet to the empire, and conquered Mon- 
golia, subduing those restless tribes which for so 
many centuries had been a sword in the side of the 
great empire of the East. Their able administration 
was aided by their long reigns, Kanghi being on the 
throne for sixty-one years, while Keen Lung abdi- 
cated after a reign of sixty years, that he might not 
take from his esteemed grandfather the honor of the 
longest reign. Keen Lung died three years after- 
wards, in 1799, thus bringing up the history of 
China almost to the opening year of the nineteenth 
century. His eventful life was largely devoted to 
the consolidation of the Tartar authority, and was 
marked by brilliant military exploits and zeal in 
promoting the interests of China in all directions. 

299 



300 HISTORICAL TALES. 

It is our purpose here to tell the story of one of the 
famous military exploits of his reign. 

The conquest of Thibet had brought the Chinese 
into contact with the bold and restless hill-tribes 
which occupy the region between China and India. 
South of the Himalaya range there existed several 
small mountain states, independent alike of Mogul 
and of British rule, and defiant in their mountain 
fastnesses of all the great surrounding powers. Of 
these small states the most important was Nepal, 
originally a single kingdom, but afterwards divided 
into three, which were in frequent hostility with 
one another. West of Nepal was a small clan, the 
Goorkhas, whose people were noted for their war- 
like daring. It is with these that we are here con- 
cerned. 

In 1760 the king of Bhatgaon, one of the divisions 
of Nepal, being threatened by his rival kings, begged 
aid from the Goorkha chief. It was readily given, 
and with such effect as to win the allies a signal tri- 
umph. The ease of his victory roused the ambition 
of Narayan, the leader of the Goorkhas, and by 
1769 the three kings of Nepal were either slain or 
fugitives in India and their country had fallen under 
the dominion of its recently insignificant and little- 
considered neighbor. 

The Goorkhas differed essentially from the Nepal- 
ese in character. They despised commerce and dis- 
liked strangers. War was their trade, and their ag- 
gressions soon disturbed conditions along the whole 
Himalaya range. The flourishing trade which had 
once existed between India and Thibet by way of 



THE RAID OF THE GOORKHAS. 301 

Nepal was brought to an end, while the raids of the 
dominant clan on neighboring powers excited gen- 
eral apprehension. Twenty years after their con- 
quest of Nepal the incursions of the Goorkhas into 
Thibet became so serious as to demand the attention 
of the Chinese emperor, though no decided action 
was taken for their suppression. But in 1790 an 
event occurred that put a sudden end to this supine 
indifference. 

The temples and lamasaries of Thibet were widely 
believed to contain a great store of wealth, the re- 
ports of which proved highly alluring to the needy 
and daring warriors of the Goorkha clan. The Chi- 
nese had shown no disposition to defend Thibet, and 
this rich spoil seemed to lie at the mercy of any 
adventurous band strong enough to overcome local 
opposition. In consequence, the Goorkhas prepared 
for an invasion in force of the northern state, and, 
with an army of about eighteen thousand men, 
crossed the Himalayas by the lofty passes of Kirong 
and Kuti and rapidly advanced into the country be- 
yond. 

The suddenness of this movement found the Thi- 
betans quite unprepared. Everything gave way 
before the bold invaders, and in a short time De- 
garchi, the second town of the state, fell into their 
hands. This was the residence of the Teshu Lama, 
ranking next to the Dalai in authority, and possessed 
the vast lamasary of Teshu Lumbo, rich in accumu- 
lated wealth, which fell into the hands of the in- 
vaders. A farther advance would undoubtedly have 
given them the chief city of Lhassa, since the un- 



302 HISTORICAL TALES. 

warlike population fled in terror before their ad- 
vance, but their success at Degarchi had been so 
great as to check their march, many weeks being 
spent in counting their spoil and subduing the sur- 
rounding country. 

Meanwhile urgent petitions were sent to Peking, 
and the old emperor, aroused to the necessity for 
prompt and decisive action, gave orders that all 
available troops should at once be despatched to 
Lhassa and vigorous preparations made for war. 
Within a few months a Chinese army of seventy 
thousand men, armed with several pieces of light 
artillery, had reached Thibet, where the Goorkhas, 
alarmed by the numbers of their opponents, made 
hasty preparations for a retreat. But their spoil 
was so abundant and bulky as to delay their march, 
and the Chinese, who were well commanded, suc- 
ceeded in coming up with them before they had 
crossed the mountain passes. The movements of 
the Chinese commander were so skilfully made that 
the retreat of the Goorkhas without a battle for the 
safety of their treasures became impossible. 

Sund Fo, the Chinese general, according to the 
usual practice of his people, began by the offer of 
terms to the enemy, these being the surrender of all 
their spoil and of a renegade lama whose tale of 
the wealth of Thibet had led to the invasion. Prob- 
ably also pledges for better conduct in future were 
demanded, but the proud chief of the Goorkhas 
haughtily refused to accept any of these conditions 
and defied his foes to do their worst. Of the battle 
that followed nothing is known except its result, 



THE RAID OF THE GOORKHAS. 303 

which was the defeat and hasty retreat of the in- 
vaders, much of whose baggage was left behind. 

The Chinese do not seem to have suffered greatly, 
to judge from the promptness of their pursuit, which 
was made with such rapidity that the Goorkhas 
were overtaken and again defeated before they had 
reached the Kirong pass, they being now obliged to 
abandon most of their baggage and spoil. The pur- 
suit continued with an energy remarkable for a 
Chinese army, the Goorkhas, bold as they were by 
nature, growing demoralized under this unlooked-for 
persistence. Every encounter resulted in a defeat, 
the forts which commanded the mountain passes and 
defiles were taken in succession by Sund Fo's army, 
and he still pressed relentlessly on. At a strong 
point called Eassoa the Goorkhas defended for three 
days a passage over a chasm, but they had grown 
faint-hearted through their successive defeats, and 
this post too fell into the hands of their enemy. 

The triumphs of the Chinese had not been won 
without severe loss, both in their frequent assaults 
upon mountain strongholds and a desperate foe, and 
from the passage of the snow-clad mountains, but 
they finally succeeded in reaching the southern slopes 
of the Himalayas with an effective force of forty 
thousand men. Khatmandu, the Goorkha capital, 
lay not far away, and with a last effort of courage 
and despair the retreating army made a stand for 
the defence of the seat of their government. 

Their position was a strong one, their courage that 
of desperation, and their valor and resolution so 
great that for a time they checked the much stronger 



304 HISTORICAL TALES. 

battalions of their foes. The Chinese troops, dis- 
heartened by the courage with which the few but 
brave mountaineers held their works, were filled with 
dismay, and might have been repulsed but for the 
ruthless energy of their leader, who was determined 
at any cost to win. Turning the fire of his artillery 
upon his own troops, he drove them relentlessly 
upon the foe, forcing them to a charge that swept 
them like a torrent over the Goorkha works. The 
fire of the guns was kept up upon the mingled mass 
of combatants until the Goorkhas were driven over 
a precipice into the stream of the Tadi that ran be- 
low. By this decisive act of the Chinese commander 
many of his own men were slain, but the enemy 
was practically annihilated and the war brought to 
an end. 

The Goorkhas now humbly solicited peace, which 
Sund Fo was quite ready to grant, for his own losses 
had been heavy and it was important to recross 
the mountains before winter set in. He therefore 
granted them peace on humiliating terms, though 
these were as favorable as they could expect under 
the circumstances. Any further attempt at resist- 
ance against the overwhelming army of their foes 
might have ended in the complete destruction of 
their state. They took an oath to keep the peace 
with Thibet, to acknowledge themselves vassals of 
China, to send an embassy with tribute to Peking 
every five years, and to restore all the plunder taken 
from Teshu Lumbo. 

Of the later history of the Goorkhas some words 
may be said. Their raids into India led to a British 



THE RAID OF THE GOORKHAS 305 

invasion of their country in 1814, and in 1816 they 
were forced to make peace. The celebrated Jung 
Bahadur became their ruler in 1846 through the 
summary process of killing all his enemies, and in 
1857, during the Indian mutiny, he came with a 
strong force to the aid of the British, whose friend 
he had always remained. In more recent wars the 
Goorkhas have proved themselves among the bravest 
soldiers in the Indian army, and in the late war 
with the hill-tribes showed an intrepidity which no 
part of the army surpassed. The independence of 
their state is still maintained. 



20 



HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA. 

For four or five thousand years China remained 
isolated from the rest of the civilized world, its only- 
relations being with the surrounding peoples of its 
own race, notably with the Tartars of the steppes. 
Then, in the nineteenth century, the wall of isola- 
tion suddenly broke down, and it was forced to enter 
into relations of trade and amity with Europe and 
America. This revolution did not come about peace- 
fully. The thunder of cannon was necessary to 
break down the Chinese wall of seclusion. But the 
result seems likely to prove of the greatest advan- 
tage to the so-called Celestial Kingdom. It has 
swung loose from its moorings in the harbor of con- 
servatism, and it is not safe to predict how far it will 
drift, but it is safe to say that a few years of foreign 
war have done as much for it as hundreds of years of 
peace and isolation. 

From time to time in the past centuries Europeans 
made their way to China. Some were priestly en- 
voys, some missionaries, some, as in the case of the 
Polos, traders. Afterwards came the Jesuit mission- 
aries, who gained an important standing in China 
under the early Manchu emperors, and were greatly 
favored by the emperor Kanghi. After his death a 
change took place, and they were gradually driven 
from the land. 
306 



o 
> 



o 
> 

o 
o 

o 
> 

JO 

JO 




HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA. 307 

The first foreign envoy reached China from Eussia 
in 1567. Another came in 1653, his purpose being 
to establish freedom of trade. A century later a 
treaty was made establishing a system of overland 
trade between Eussia and China, and since then a 
Eussian missionary station has existed in Peking. 
In 1516 came the first vessel to China under a 
European flag, a Portuguese trader. Others fol- 
lowed, and trade began through Canton and other 
ports. But the foreign traders soon began to act 
rather as pirates than as peaceful visitors, and in 
the end the Chinese drove them all away. About 
the middle of the sixteenth century a foreign settle- 
ment was begun at Macao, on an island near the 
southeast boundary of the empire, and here the trade 
grew so brisk that for a time Macao was the richest 
trading-mart in Eastern Asia. But so hostile were 
the relations between the Portuguese, Spanish, and 
Dutch, and so brigand-like their behavior, that the 
Chinese looked upon them all as piratical barbarians, 
and intercourse did not grow. 

The English had their own way of opening trade 
relations. A fleet under Captain Weddell came to 
Canton in 1637, and, as the Chinese fired upon a 
watering boat, attacked and captured the forts, burnt 
the council-house, carried off the guns from the forts, 
and seized two merchant junks. About fifty years 
afterwards they were accorded trading privileges at 
Canton and Ning-po. 

To England, indeed, is due the chief credit of 
opening up China to the world, though the way in 
which it was done is not much to England's credit. 



308 HISTORICAL TALES. 

This was by the famous — or infamous — opium war. 
But in another way England was the first to break 
through the traditional ceremonies of the Chinese 
court. All who approached the emperor's throne, 
foreign ambassadors as well as Chinese subjects, were 
required to perform the kotow, which consisted in 
kneeling three times before the emperor, or even be- 
fore his empty throne, and each time bowing the 
head until the forehead three times touched the 
marble flooring. This was done by the Eussians 
and the Dutch, but the Earl of Macartney, who 
came as English ambassador in 1792, refused to per- 
form the slavish ceremony, and was therefore not 
permitted to see the emperor, though otherwise well 
received. 

The first event of importance in the nineteenth 
century, that century so vital in the history of 
Cb.ina, was the hoisting of the American flag at 
Canton in 1802, which marked the beginning of 
American trade with the Celestial empire. From 
this time the trade of Canton rapidly grew, until it 
became one of the greatest commercial cities of the 
world, while its mercantile activity gave employ- 
ment to millions of natives in all parts of the empire 
in preparing articles of commerce, particularly tea. 
It was also of great importance to the imperial gov- 
ernment from the revenue it furnished in the way 
of duty and presents. It is of interest to note, how- 
ever, that the emperor and his court looked upon 
these presents as the payment of tribute, and the 
nations that sent them, unknown to themselves, were 
set down as vassals of the Chinese crown. 



HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA. 309 

We have now an important feature of the Chinese 
trade to record. Opium was a favorite article of 
consumption in China, and its use there had given 
rise to an important industry in British India, in the 
growth of the poppy. In the year 1800 the emperor, 
perceiving the growing evil in the use of opium by 
his people, issued an edict forbidding its introduction 
into China. This did not check the trade, its only 
effect being to convert legitimate into smuggling 
traffic. The trade went on as briskly as before, the 
smugglers being openly aided by venal officials not 
only at Canton but at other points along the coast. 
By 1838 the disregard of the law, and the quantity 
of opium smuggled into the empire by small boats 
on the Canton Eiver, had become so great that the 
Peking government determined to take more active 
steps for the suppression of the illicit trade. At this 
time there were more than fifty small craft plying 
on the river under the English and American flags, 
most of them smugglers. Some of these were seized 
and destroyed, but as the others were then heavily 
manned and armed the revenue officers declined to 
interfere with them, and the contraband trade went 
briskly on. 

At length the difficulty reached a climax. Arrests 
and punishments for the use of opium became com- 
mon throughout the empire, three royal princes were 
degraded for this practice, a commissioner with large 
powers was sent from Peking to Canton, and the 
foreigners were ordered to deliver up every particle 
of opium in their store-ships and give bonds to bring 
no more, on penalty of death. As a result, somewhat 



310 HISTORICAL TALES. 

more than one thousand chests were tendered to the 
commissioner, but this was declared to be not enough, 
and that official at once took the decisive measure of 
cutting off the food-supply from the foreign settle- 
ment. This and other active steps brought about 
the desired result. Captain Elliot, the British super- 
intendent of commerce, advised a complete delivery 
of all opium under British control, and before night 
more than twenty thousand chests of the deleterious 
drug were surrendered into his hands, and were 
offered by him to the commissioner the next day. 

News of this event was sent to Peking, and orders 
came back that the opium should be all destroyed ; 
which was done effectively by mixing it with salt 
water and lime in trenches and drawing off the mix- 
ture into an adjacent creek. Care was taken that 
none should be purloined, and one man was executed 
on the spot for attempting to steal a small portion 
of the drug. Thus perished an amount of the valu- 
able substance rated at cost price at nearly eleven 
million dollars. 

We have described this event at some length, as 
it led to the first war between China and a foreign 
power. The destruction of the opium deeply offended 
the British government, and in the next year (1840) 
Captain Elliot received an official letter to the effect 
that war would be declared unless China should pay 
for the goods destroyed. As China showed no inten- 
tion of doing so, an English fleet was sent to Chinese 
waters in the summer of 1841, whose admiral de- 
clared a blockade of the port of Canton, and, on 
July 5, bombarded and captured the town of Ting- 



HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA. 311 

hai. Various other places were blockaded, and, as 
the emperor rejected all demands, the fleet moved 
upon Canton, taking the forts along the river as it 
advanced. In the end, when an attack had become 
imminent, the authorities ransomed their city for the 
sum of six million dollars. 

But the emperor did not know yet the strength of 
the power with which he had to deal, and still con- 
tinued silent and defiant. The fleet now sailed north- 
ward, capturing in succession Arnoy, Chin-hai, and 
Ning-po. Cha-pu was the next to fall, and here the 
Manchu Tartars for the first time came into conflict 
with the English. When defeated, great numbers of 
them killed themselves, first destroying their wives 
and children. The forts at the mouth of the Tang- 
tse-Kiang were next taken. Here the governor-gen- 
eral took care to post himself out of danger, but in 
a grandiloquent despatch declared that he had been 
in the hottest of the fight, " where cannon-balls in- 
numerable, flying in awful confusion through the 
expanse of heaven, fell before, behind, and on every 
side, while in the distance were visible the ships of 
the rebels standing erect, lofty as mountains. The 
fierce daring of the rebels was inconceivable ; officers 
and men fell at their posts. Every effort to resist 
the onset was in vain, and a retreat became inevi- 
table;' 

The result was the capture of Shanghai. The 
British now determined on a siege of the important 
city of Nanking, the ancient capital of China. The 
movement began with an attack on Chin-Kiang-fu, 
the "Mart-river city." Here a fierce assault was 



312 HISTORICAL TALES. 

made, the Manchu garrison resisting with obstinate 
courage. In the end, of the garrison of four thou- 
sand only five hundred remained, most of the others 
having killed themselves. This victory rendered the 
capture of Nanking certain, its food-supply was 
already endangered by the English control of the 
river, and the authorities gave way. The emperor 
was now convinced that further resistance was hope- 
less, and the truce endeci in a treaty of peace, the 
Chinese government agreeing to pay twenty-one 
million dollars indemnity, to open to British trade 
and residence the ports of Canton, Amoy, Foo-Chow, 
Ning-po, and Shanghai, and to cede to the English 
the island of Hong-Kong, with various minor stipu- 
lations. 

This war, which was fought with the discreditable 
purpose of forcing upon China an injurious drug 
against her will, had nevertheless several very useful 
results. Other European nations hastened to claim 
the same privileges of trade that were given the 
English, and in 1844 a commercial treaty was signed 
between China and the United States, in the conduct 
of which a favorable disposition towards Americans 
was shown. The eventual result was the breaking 
down of the barriers of intolerance which had been 
so long maintained, that ancient and self-satisfied 
government being at last forced to throw open its 
gates for the entrance of the new ideas of inter- 
national amity and freedom of commerce. 

But much had still to be done before these desira- 
ble results could be fully achieved. Hostile relations 
were not yet at an end, annoying restrictions being 



HOW EUROPE ENTERED CHINA. 313 

placed on the promised intercourse. In 1856 a na- 
tive vessel flying the British flag was seized by the 
Chinese, who refused to apologize to the British for 
the act. As a result, the city of Canton was bom- 
barded and the forts were destroyed. A warlike 
demonstration was decided upon by Great Britain 
and France, the first result being the total destruc- 
tion of the Chinese fleet and the capture of Canton. 
A revision of the former treaty and the concession 
of greater privileges were demanded, which China, 
warned by the lesson of the opium war, found itself 
obliged to grant. 

The English and French, however, refused to treat 
at Canton, as the Chinese desired, but sailed to the 
mouth of the Pei-ho, the port of Peking, up which 
stream their fleets proceeded to the city of Tien-tsin. 
Here arrangements for a new treaty of commerce 
and the opening of new ports were made, Eussia 
and the United States taking part in the negotia- 
tions. But on proceeding to the mouth of the Pei- 
ho in 1859 to ratify the treaty, the river was found 
to be obstructed and the forts strongly armed. The 
American and Eussian envoys were willing to go to 
Peking overland, in accordance with the Chinese 
request, but the British and French determined to 
force their way up the stream and to take as many 
soldiers with them as they pleased. They attacked 
the forts, therefore, but, to their disgust, found them- 
selves defeated and forced to withdraw. 

This repulse could have but one result. It gave 
the Chinese for the first time confidence in their 
ability to meet the foreigner in war. It humiliated 



314 HISTORICAL TALES. 

and exasperated the English and French. They de- 
termined now to carry the war to the gates of 
Peking and force the Chinese to acknowledge the 
supremacy of the nations of the West. 

The events of this war we can give only in out- 
line. In the summer of 1860 a new attack was made 
on the Taku forts, troops being landed to assail them 
in the rear, in which direction no arrangement for 
defence had been made. As a result the forts fell, a 
large body of Tartar cavalry, which sought to stop 
the march of the allies with bows, arrows, and 
spears, being taught a lesson in modern war by the 
explosion of shells in their ranks. The capture of 
the forts left the way clear for a march on the capi- 
tal, which was at once made, and on the 5th of Oc- 
tober, 1860, a European army first came within 
view of this long-hidden and mysterious city. 



THE BURNING OF THE SUM- 
MER PALACE. 

The " sublime" emperor, the supreme head of the 
great realm of China and its hundreds of millions 
of people, dwells in a magnificence and seclusion un- 
known to the monarchs of other lands. His palace 
enclosure within the city of Peking, the " Purple 
Forbidden City," as it is called, covers over half a 
square mile of ground, and is surrounded by a wall 
forty feet high and more than forty feet thick. 
Within this sacred enclosure the Chinese ideas of 
beauty and magnificence have been developed to the 
fullest extent, and the emperor resides in unap- 
proachable grandeur and state. Outside the city, a 
few miles to the north, lies the Summer Palace, an- 
other locality on which the Celestial architects and 
landscape artists have exhausted their genius in de- 
vising scenes of beauty and charm, and which is 
similarly walled in from the common herd. Beyond 
the Great Wall, on the borders of Tartary, exists 
another palatial enclosure, the hunting and pleasure 
grounds of the emperor, in the midst of an immense 
forest abundantly stocked with game. To the latter 
his supreme majesty made his way with all haste on 
hearing of the rapid approach of the English and 
French armies. In truth, the great monarchs of the 
Manchu dynasty had passed away, and the feeble 

315 



316 HISTORICAL TALES. 

reigning emperor lacked the courage to fight for his 
throne. 

On the 5th of October, 1860, the allied armies of 
England and France approached the Celestial capi- 
tal, the officers obtaining their first view of its far- 
stretching wall from the tops of some grass-grown 
brick-kilns. On the next day the march was re- 
sumed, the French force advancing upon the Sum- 
mer Palace, where it was hoped the emperor would 
be found, the English directing their course towards 
the city, where a Tartar picket was driven in and 
preparations were begun for an assault in force. 

The Summer Palace was found in charge of some 
three hundred eunuchs, whom Prince Kung, who 
had left in all haste the evening before, had ordered 
to make a gallant defence. But the entrance gave 
way before the impetuous assault of the French, a 
few of the defenders fell dead or wounded, and the 
remainder beat a hasty retreat, leaving the grand 
entrance to the Yuen-ming-yuen, the famous im- 
perial residence, in the hands of the daring and dis- 
respectful " barbarians." 

Into the grand reception-hall, which none had 
heretofore entered except in trembling awe, the 
irreverent foreigners boldly made their way, their 
spurred heels ringing on the broad marble floor be- 
fore the emperor's sacred throne, their loud voices 
resounding through that spacious hall where silence 
and ceremony so long had reigned supreme, as the 
awed courtiers approached with silent tread and 
voiceless respect the throne of the dreaded Brother 
of the Sun and Moon. 



THE BURNING OF THE SUMMER PALACE. 317 

"Imagine such a scene," says Swinhoe. "The 
emperor is seated on his ebony throne, attired in 
a yellow robe wrought over with dragons in gold 
thread, his head surmounted with a spherical crown 
of gold and precious stones, with pearl drops sus- 
pended round on light gold chains. His eunuchs 
and ministers, in court costume, are ranged on either 
side on their knees, and his guard of honor and mu- 
sicians drawn up in two lines in the court-yard with- 
out. The name of the distinguished person to be 
introduced is called out, and as he approaches the 
band strikes up. He draws near the awful throne, 
and, looking meekly on the ground, drops on his 
knees before the central steps. He removes his hat 
from his head, and places it on the throne floor with 
its peacock feather towards the imperial donor. The 
emperor moves his hand, and down goes the humble 
head, and the forehead strikes on the step three 
times three. The head is then raised, but the eyes 
are still meekly lowered, as the imperial voice in 
thrilling accents pronounces the behest of the great 
master. The voice hushed, down goes the head 
again and acknowledges the sovereign right, and the 
privileged individual is allowed to withdraw. The 
scene described is not imaginary, but warranted by 
the accounts of natives. 

"How different the scene now! The hall filled 
with crowds of a foreign soldiery, and the throne 
floor covered with the Celestial emperor's choicest 
curios, but destined as gifts for two far more worthy 
raonarchs. 'See here,' said General Montauban, 
pointing to them. ' I have had a few of the most 



318 HISTORICAL TALES. 

brilliant things selected to be divided between the 
Queen of Great Britain and the Emperor of the 
French !' " 

General Montauban had declared that no looting 
should take place until the British came up, that all 
might have their equal share, but the fierce desire of 
the French soldiers for spoil could not easily be re- 
strained. Even the officers were no better, and as 
the rooms of the palace were boldly explored, " gold 
watches and small valuables were whipped up by these 
gentlemen with amazing velocity, and as speedily dis- 
appeared into their capacious pockets." Into the 
very bedroom of the emperor the unawed visitors 
made their way, and gazed with curious eyes on 
the imperial couch, curtained over and covered with 
silk mattresses. Under the pillow was a small silk 
handkerchief, with sundry writings in the vermilion 
pencil concerning the " barbarians," while on a table 
lay pipes and other articles of daily use. On an- 
other table was found the English treaty of 1858, 
whose terms were soon to be largely modified. 

Meanwhile the nimble-fingered French soldiers 
had not been idle, and the camp was full of articles 
of value or interest, silks and curios, many of them 
rare prizes, watches, pencil-cases set with diamonds, 
jewelled vases, and a host of other costly trifles, 
chief among which was a string of splendid pearls 
exhibited by one officer, each pearl of the size of a 
marble and the whole of immense value. 

On Sunday morning, the 7th of October, the orders 
against looting were withdrawn, and officers and 
men, English and French alike, rushed excitedly 



THE BURNING OF THE SUMMER PALACE. 319 

about the place, appropriating every valuable which 
it was within their power to carry. What could 
not be carried away was destroyed, a spirit of wan- 
ton destruction seeming to animate them all. Some 
amused themselves by shooting at the chandeliers, 
others by playing pitch-and-toss against large and 
costly mirrors, while some armed themselves with 
clubs and smashed to pieces everything too heavy to 
be carried, finishing the work by setting on fire the 
emperor's private residence. 

Those who paid more heed to observation than to 
destruction have given us interesting accounts of the 
Summer Palace and its surroundings, whose vast en- 
closure extended from the place where the French 
entered to the foot of the first range of hills north 
of Peking, six or seven miles awaj^. Over this broad 
extent were scattered gardens, palaces, temples, and 
pagodas on terraces and artificial hills. Some of 
these were like the one seen by Marco Polo in the 
palace enclosure of Kublai Khan, being from three 
hundred to four hundred* feet in height, their sides 
covered with forest-trees of all kinds, through whose 
foliage the yellow-tiled palace roofs appeared. In 
the midst of these hills lay a large lake, containing 
two or three islands, on which were picturesque 
buildings, the islands being reached by quaint and 
beautiful stone bridges. 

On one side of the lake ran the favorite walk of 
the emperor and his court, winding in and out for 
more than two miles among grottos and flower- 
gardens, roofed in by flowering creepers. Where 
palaces touched the water's edge the walk was 



320 HISTORICAL TALES. 

carried past on light but beautiful stone terraces 
built over the lake. Grandeur was added to the 
general beauty of the scene by the high mountains 
of Tartary which rose in the rear. 

The work of looting was followed by a sale of the 
spoil under the walls of Peking, the auction con- 
tinuing for three days, during which a large quantity 
of valuable plunder was disposed of. Many of the 
French officers had acquired considerable fortunes, 
and numbers of their men were nearly as well sup- 
plied. For several days intoxication and disorder 
prevailed, while the disposition to plunder was ex- 
tended from the palace to the neighboring villages. 

Meanwhile the preparations for an assault on Pe- 
king had gone forward. The Anting gate was the 
point selected, the Chinese being given until the 12th 
for a peaceful surrender. As noon of that day drew 
near, the gunners stood by their pieces, a storming 
party excitedly awaited the order to charge as soon 
as a breach had been made, and General Napier, 
watch in hand, timed the slow minutes. Five min- 
utes to twelve arrived. The general was almost on 
the point of giving the order, the gunners were 
growing eager and excited, when Colonel Stephen- 
son came galloping hastily up with the news that the 
gate had been surrendered. In a few minutes more 
it was thrown open, a party of British marched in 
and took possession, and the French followed with 
beating drums and flying flags, forcing the natives 
back as they advanced. 

That afternoon several prisoners were restored to 
the allies. They proved to have been inhumanly 



THE BURNING OF THE SUMMER PALACE. 321 

treated and were in a condition of fearful emacia- 
tion, while the bodies of several who had died were 
also given up, among them that of Mr. Bowlby, cor- 
respondent of the London Times. This spectacle 
aroused the greatest indignation in the British camp. 
A terrible retribution might have been inflicted upon 
Peking had not a promise of its safety been given if 
the gate were surrendered. But the emperor's rural 
retreat lay at the mercy of the troops, and Lord Elgin 
gave orders that its palaces should be levelled with 
the ground. The French refused to aid in this act 
of vandalism, which they strongly condemned, — a 
verdict which has since been that of the civilized 
world. But Lord Elgin was fixed in his purpose, 
and the work of destruction went on. 

Soon flames appeared above the devoted structures, 
and long columns of smoke rose to the sky, increas- 
ing in width and density as the day waned, until the 
canopy of smoke hung like a vast storm-cloud over 
Peking, and the sorrowful eyes of those on the walls 
saw the flashing fire that told of the swift destruc- 
tion of what it had taken centuries to build. For 
two days the work of ruin in the imperial grounds 
went on, the soldiers carrying away what they could 
from the burning buildings, though a vast amount 
of property was destroyed, the loss being estimated 
at a value of over ten million dollars. 

Threats were now made that unless compensation 
should be paid for the British subjects maltreated 
and murdered, and the treaty signed within a fixed 
period, the palace in Peking would be seized and 
other steps of violence taken. There was no redress 

21 



322 HISTORICAL TALES. 

for the Chinese. They were in the grasp of their 
foes and were obliged to submit. On the 24th, Lord 
Elgin was carried in state in his green sedan-chair 
through the principal street of the city, attended 
by a force of about eight thousand soldiers, while 
multitudes of Chinese viewed the procession with 
curious eyes. Prince Kung awaited him in a large 
hall, and here the Treaty of Tien-tsin, to obtain a 
ratification of which the allies had come to Peking, 
was formally executed. At the close of the cere- 
monies the prince tendered a banquet, but the British 
declined the proffered honor, fearing that they might 
be poisoned by the Chinese cooks. A similar ban- 
quet offered to the French on the following day was 
readily accepted, and none of them suffered through 
their faith in the honor of their host. 

Since the date of this war the process of opening 
China to the nations of the West has gone unceasingly 
on, the policy of exclusion of that old nation slowly 
but steadily giving way. In 1873, on the young 
emperor Tung-chi attaining his majority, the long- 
refused audience with the emperor without perform- 
ing the kotow was granted, the ambassador of Japan 
being first received, and after him those of the United 
States, Eussia, Great Britain, France, and the Nether- 
lands. For the first time foreigners were permitted 
to stand erect and gaze with uplifted eyes on " the 
sacred countenance," and the equality with the em- 
peror of the monarchs of the West was acknowledged 
by the Celestial court. 



A GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVE- 
MENT AND ITS FATE. 

The Chinese are a peculiar people, and have odd 
ideas of the po.wer and duty of their monarchs and 
of their own rights and duties. In their country no 
son has the right to resist his father, even if he be 
treated with tyrannical cruelty. But in regard to 
the emperor, though they look upon him as the father 
of his people, they claim the right to depose him and 
put him to death if he plays the tyrant. So long as 
he rules with justice and wisdom both man and 
nature acknowledge his authority, but if he violates 
the principles of justice and goodness the Chinaman 
claims the right to rebel, while such evils of nature 
as pestilence and famine, destructive storms and 
earthquakes, are held as proofs that Heaven is with- 
drawing from the weak or wicked emperor the right 
to rule. 

The history of the empire is full of instances of 
popular rebellions against offending rulers, some 
quelled, others hurling the monarch from his throne, 
and in this way most of the old dynasties ended and 
new ones began. The course of events brought about 
such a state of affairs in the nineteenth century. 
Though the Chinese have never been content with 
their Manchu rulers, they submitted to them as long 
as they were just and public-spirited. But in time 

323 



324 HISTORICAL TALES. 

this dynasty suffered the fate of all others, weak 
emperors following the strong ones, and in the 
reign of the incompetent Kea-king, who succeeded 
Keen Lung, rebellions broke out in a dozen quar- 
ters, pirates ravaged the coast, and the disaffection 
extended throughout the realm. 

In 1820 this weak emperor died, and was succeeded 
by Taou-kwang, who proved even less fit to rule than 
his father, devoting himself to the pursuit of pleasure 
and leaving the empire to take care of itself. Soon 
new rebels were in the field, whom the armies proved 
unable to put down, and the disorganization of the 
empire made rapid progress. Even the Meaou-tsze, 
or hill-tribes, the descendants of the first inhabitants 
of the country, rose in arms and defeated an army 
of thirty thousand men. War with the English 
added to the discontent, which grew greater until 
1850, when the emperor died and his son Heen-fung 
ascended the throne. 

This was going from bad to worse. The new em- 
peror was still more selfish and tyrannical than his 
father, and under the control of his craving for sen- 
sual pleasures paid no heed to the popular cry for 
reform. The discontent was now coming to a head. 
In the south broke out a revolt, whose leaders pro- 
claimed as emperor a youth said to be a descendant 
of the Ming dynasty, who took the royal name of 
Teen-tih, or "Heavenly Virtue." But he and his 
followers soon vanished before another and abler 
aspirant to the throne, the first man with a genius 
for command who had headed any of these rebel 
outbreaks. 



A GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT AND ITS FATE. 325 

The leader of this remarkable movement sprang 
from the lowest ranks of the people, being the son 
of a peasant dwelling in a village near Canton. 
Hung Sew-tseuen was a man of ardent imagination 
and religious enthusiasm. Strange visions came to 
him, and held him captive for some forty days, in 
which the visitors of his dreaming fancy urged him 
to destroy the idols. Some years afterwards he read 
a Christian pamphlet containing chapters from the 
Scriptures, and found it to correspond closely with 
what he had seen and heard in his vision. Inspired 
by these various influences, he felt himself divinely 
commissioned to restore his country to the worship 
of the true God, and set out on a mission to convert 
the people to his new faith. 

Fung-Yun-san, one of his first converts, ardently 
joined him, and the two traversed the country far 
and wide, preaching the religion of the Christian 
God. Their success was great, their converts all 
giving up the worship of Confucius and renouncing 
idolatry. Some of them were arrested for destroy- 
ing idols, among them Fung-Yun-san, but on the way 
to prison he converted the soldiers of his guard, who 
set him free and followed him as disciples. Many 
of the converts were seized with convulsions, some 
professed to have the gift of healing, and the move- 
ment took on the phase of strong religious ecstasy 
and enthusiasm. 

It was in 1850 that this effort assumed a political 
character. A large force of pirates had been driven 
by a British fleet from the sea, and on shore they 
joined the bandits of the south, and became rebels 



326 HISTORICAL TALES. 

against the Manchu rule. Hung's converts were 
mostly among this people, who soon took a strong 
stand against the misrule of the Tartars. The move- 
ment grew rapidly. From all sides recruits came to 
the rebel ranks, among them two women chiefs, each 
at the head of about two thousand men. Hung now 
proclaimed himself as sent by Heaven to drive out 
the Tartars — whom he declared to be examples of 
all that was base and vile — and to place a Chinese 
emperor on his country's throne. 

Putting his forces in march, Hung made a remark- 
able progress of about one thousand miles to Woo- 
chang on the Yang-tse-Kiang and down that stream, 
the army fighting its way through all opposition. 
When towns and cities submitted their people were 
spared. Slaughter awaited those who resisted. Food 
and clothing were obtained by requisition on the 
people. The imperial troops were hurled back in 
defeat wherever met. Before battle it was the cus- 
tom of the insurgents to kneel down and invoke the 
protection of God, after which they would charge 
their enemies with resistless zeal. City after city 
fell before them, and the whole empire regarded their 
march with surprise and dismay. 

The converts professed faith in the Christian Scrip- 
tures, of which an imperfect translation was distrib- 
uted among them. Hung announced that in case of 
success the Bible would be substituted for the works 
of Confucius. The Sabbath was strictly observed 
among them, forms of prayer to the Supreme Being 
were in constant use, and Englishmen who came 
among them spoke in the highest terms of their 



A GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT AND ITS FATE. 327 

pious devotion and their great kindliness of feeling. 
They welcomed Europeans as " brethren from across 
the sea" and as fellow- worshippers of " Yesu." 

From Woo-chang Hung led his army in 1852 down 
the river towards Nanking, which he had fixed upon 
as the capital of his new empire. The disaffection 
of the people of Nanking was so great that little 
resistance was made except by the Tartar garrison, 
who were all put to death when the city fell. Being 
now in possession of the ancient capital of the king- 
dom, Hung proclaimed himself emperor under the 
name of Teen Wang, or " Heavenly King," giving to 
his dynasty the title of the Tai-ping. 

And now for a number of years victory followed 
every movement of the Tai-ping army. Four lead- 
ing cities of Central China were quickly occupied, 
and a brilliant march to the north was begun, in 
which, cutting loose from its base of supplies, the 
rebel host forced its way through all obstacles. The 
army penetrated as far north as Tien-tsin, and Pe- 
king itself was in imminent peril, being saved only 
by a severe repulse of the rebel forces. The ad- 
vance of the British and French upon Peking aided 
the cause of the insurgents, and fear of them had 
much to do with the prompt surrender of the city 
to the foreign invaders. 

After the war the tide of the insurrection turned 
and its decline began, mainly through the aid given 
by the English to the government forces. Ignoring 
the fact that the movement was a Christian one, and 
might have gone far towards establishing Christi- 
anity among the Chinese, and friendly relations with 



328 HISTORICAL TALES. 

foreign peoples, the English seemed mainly gov- 
erned by the circumstance that opium was pro- 
hibited by the Tai-ping government at Nanking, 
the trade in this pernicious drug proving a far 
stronger interest with them than the hopeful results 
from the missionary movement. 

Operations against the insurgents took place 
through the treaty ports, and British and French 
troops aided the imperial forces. The British cruis- 
ers treated the Tai-ping junks as pirates, because 
they captured Chinese vessels, and the soldiers and 
sailors of Great Britain took part in forty-three bat- 
tles and massacres in which over four hundred thou- 
sand of the Tai-pings were killed. More than two 
millions of them are said to have died of starvation 
in the famine caused by the operations of the Chi- 
nese, British, and French allies. 

General Ward, an American, led a force of natives 
against them, but their final overthrow was due to 
the famous Colonel Gordon, " Chinese Gordon," as 
he was subsequently known. He was not long in 
organizing the imperial troops, the " Ever- Victorious 
Army," into a powerful force, and in taking the field 
against the rebels. From that day their fortunes 
declined. City after city was taken from their gar- 
risons, and in July, 1864, Nanking was invested with 
an immense army. Its fall ended the hopes of the 
Tai-ping dynasty. For three days the slaughter con- 
tinued in its streets, while the new emperor avoided 
the sword of the foe by suicide. Those who escaped 
fled to their former homes, where many of them 
joined bands of banditti. 



A GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT AND ITS FATE. 329 

Thus came to a disastrous end, through the aid of 
foreign arms, the most remarkable insurrectionary 
movement that China has ever known. What would 
have been its result had the Chinese been left to 
themselves it is not easy to say. The indications are 
strong that the Manchu dynasty would have fallen 
and the Chinese regained their own again. And the 
Christian faith and worship of the rebels, with their 
marked friendliness to foreigners, might have worked 
a moral and political revolution in the Chinese em- 
pire, and lifted that ancient land into a far higher 
position than it occupies to-day. But the interests 
of the opium trade were threatened, and before this 
all loftier considerations had to give way. 



CO RE A AND ITS NEIGHBORS. 

We have thus far followed the course of two dis- 
tinct streams of history, that of Japan and that of 
China, flowing near each other, yet touching at very 
few points in their course. Near the end of the nine- 
teenth century these two streams flowed together, 
and the histories of the two countries became one, 
in the war in which their difference in military skill 
was so strikingly displayed. Japan made use of the 
lessons which it had well learned in its forty years 
of intercourse with Europe. China fought in the 
obsolete fashion of a past age. As a result, the cum- 
bersome mediaeval giant went down before the alert 
modern dwarf, and the people of Eastern Asia were 
taught a new and astounding lesson in the art of 
war. 

Between China and Japan lies the kingdom of 
Corea, separated by a river from the former, by a 
strait of the ocean from the latter, claimed as a vas- 
sal state by both, yet preserving its individuality as 
a state against the pair. It has often been invaded 
by China, but never conquered. It has twice been 
invaded by Japan, as described in preceding tales, 
and made tributary, but not conquered. Thus it re- 
mained until the end of the nineteenth century, when 
it was to become the cause of a war between the two 
rival empires. 
330 



COREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS. 331 

During the long history of China and Japan these 
countries very rarely came into conflict with each 
other. Only once has China invaded Japan, when 
Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor, attempted its 
conquest with a great fleet, the fate of which we 
have already told. This effort had its influence upon 
Japan, for during the succeeding three centuries 
pirates from the island empire boldly raided the 
coast of China, devastating the maritime provinces 
and causing immense loss and suffering. They often 
built forts on the shore, from which they sallied forth 
to plunder and burn, keeping their ships at hand 
ready to fly if defeated. Thus they went on, plunder- 
ing and destroying, their raids reaching a ruinous 
stage in 1553 and the succeeding years. They de- 
feated the Chinese troops in several battles, ravaged 
the whole surrounding country, carried off immense 
quantities of spoil, sold multitudes of prisoners into 
slavery, and in seven or eight years slaughtered over 
one hundred thousand soldiers and citizens of China. 
The raids resembled those made at an earlier date by 
the Normans on the coast of France and the Danes 
on that of England, the sea-rovers pouncing down 
at unexpected times and places and plundering and 
burning at will. 

These forays of the pirates, in which the govern- 
ment took no part, were followed in 1592 by an in- 
vasion in force of the kingdom of Corea. In this 
the invaders rapidly swept all before them, quickly 
overrunning the southern half of the kingdom and 
threatening China. The Chinese then came to the 
aid of their helpless neighbors, and for six years the 



332 HISTORICAL TALES. 

war went on, the Japanese being usually successful 
in the field, but gradually forced back from want of 
supplies, as the country was devastated and their 
own land distant. In the end Hideyoshi, the sho- 
gun, died, and the army was withdrawn, Japan hold- 
ing the port of Fusan as the sole result of its costly 
effort. This Corean port it still retains. 

And now three hundred years passed away in 
which Corea remained free and isolated from the 
world. It wanted no more intercourse with for- 
eigners. Once a year a fair was held in the neutral 
zone between China and Corea, but any Chinaman 
found on Corean soil after the fair ended was liable 
to be put to death. The Japanese were kept out by 
laws as severe. In fact, the doors of the kingdom 
were closed against all of foreign birth, the coasts 
carefully patrolled, and beacon-fires kindled on the 
hill-tops to warn the capital whenever any strange 
vessel came within sight. All foreigners wrecked 
on the coast were to be held as prisoners until death. 
Such was the threatened fate of some Dutch sailors 
wrecked there during the seventeenth century, who 
escaped after fourteen years' confinement. Dread 
of China and Japan induced the king to send envoys 
with tribute to Peking and Yedo, but the tribute was 
small, and the isolation was maintained, Corea win- 
ning for itself the names of the Hermit Nation and 
the Forbidden Land. 

It was not until within recent years that this 
policy of isolation was overthrown and Corea opened 
to the world. How this was done may be briefly 
told. In spite of the Corean watchfulness, some 



COREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS. 333 

French missionaries long ago penetrated into the 
land and made many converts, who were afterwards 
severely persecuted. French fleets were sent there 
in 1866 and later, and a fight took place in which 
the French were repulsed. In consequence the per- 
secution of the Christians grew more severe. War- 
ships were sent by different nations to try to open 
trade, but in vain, and finally an American trading 
vessel was destroyed and its crew massacred. 

This affair brought a fleet from the United States 
to the coast of Corea in 1871, which, being fired on 
from the shore, attacked and captured five Corea n 
forts. The opening of Corea was finally due to Japan. 
In 1876 the Japanese did what Commodore Perry 
had done to themselves twenty-two years before. A 
fleet was sent which sailed up within sight of Seoul, 
the capital, and by a display of men and guns forced 
the government to sign a treaty opening the country 
to trade through the port of Fusan. In 1880 Che- 
mulpo was also made an open port. Two years after- 
wards a United States fleet obtained similar conces- 
sions, and within a short time most of the countries 
of Europe were admitted to trade, and the long 
isolation of the Hermit Kingdom was at an end. 

These events were followed by a rivalry between 
China and Japan, in which the latter country showed 
itself much the more active and alert. Imposing 
Japanese consulates were built in Seoul, flourishing 
settlements were laid out, and energetic steps taken 
to make Japan the paramount power in Corea. As 
a result, the Coreans became divided into two fac- 
tions, a progressive one which favored the Japanese, 



334 HISTORICAL TALES. 

and a conservative one which was more in touch 
with the backwardness of China and whose members 
hated the stirring islanders. 

In 1882 a plot was formed by the Min faction, the 
active element in the conservative party, to drive 
the Japanese out of Seoul. The intruders were at- 
tacked, a number of them were murdered, and the 
minister and others had to fight their way to the 
sea-shore, where they escaped on a junk. Two years 
afterwards a similar outbreak took place, and the 
Japanese were once more forced to fight for their 
lives from Seoul to the sea. On this occasion Chi- 
nese soldiers aided the Coreans, an act which threat- 
ened to involve Japan and China in war. The dis- 
pute was settled in 1885 by a treaty, in which both 
countries agreed to withdraw their troops from Corea 
and to send no officers to drill the Corean troops. If 
at any future time disturbances should call for the 
sending of troops to Corea, each country must notify 
the other before doing so. And thus, for nine years, 
the rivalry of the foreign powers ceased. 

Meanwhile internal discontent was rife in the Co- 
rean realm. The people were oppressed by heavy 
taxes and the other evils of tyranny and misgovern- 
ment, excited by the political questions described, and 
stirred to great feeling by the labors of the Christian 
missionaries and the persecution of their converts. 
One outcome of this was a new religious sect. At the 
same time that the Tai-ping rebels were spreading 
their new doctrines in China, a prophet, Choi-Chei- 
Ou by name, arose in Corea, who taught a doctrine 
made up of dogmas of the three religions of China, 



COREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS. 335 

with some Christian ideas thrown in. This prophet 
was seized as a Eoman Catholic in 1865 and executed, 
but his followers, known as the Tong-Haks, held 
firm to their faith. In 1893 some of them appeared 
with complaints of ill usage at the king's palace, and 
in March, 1894, they broke out in open revolt, and 
increased in numbers so rapidly that by May they 
were said to be twenty thousand strong. 

The government troops drove them back into a 
mountain region, but here the pursuers were cun- 
ningly led into an ambuscade and routed with severe 
loss. This victory of the rebels filled the government 
with consternation, which became greater when the 
insurgents, on June 1, took the capital of the prov- 
ince of Cholla. It was now feared that they would 
soon be at the gates of Seoul. 

This insurrection of the Tong-Haks was the in- 
citing cause of the war between China and Japan. 
The Min faction, then at the head of affairs, was so 
alarmed that aid from China was implored, and a 
force of about two thousand Chinese troops was sent 
to the port of Asan. Some Chinese men-of-war were 
also despatched. This action of China was quickly 
followed by similar action on the part of Japan, 
which was jealous of any Chinese movement in 
Corea. The Japanese minister, who had been ab- 
sent, returned to Seoul with four hundred marines. 
Other troops quickly followed, and in a short time 
there were several thousand Japanese soldiers sta- 
tioned around the Corean capital. 

The sending of troops to Corea was succeeded by 
disputes between the two foreign powers. China 



336 HISTORICAL TALES. 

claimed to be suzerain of Corea, a claim which Japan 
sternly denied. On the other hand, the Japanese 
government declared that the Tong-Hak movement 
was a natural result of the prevailing misgovern- 
ment, and could not be overcome unless radical re- 
forms were carried out. China was asked to take 
part in instituting a series of reforms, but declined. 

The situation quickly grew serious. The Mins, 
who controlled the government, declared that the 
Japanese troops must be withdrawn before the re- 
forms could be instituted. The Japanese refused. 
Neither China nor Japan would yield, but the latter 
held the capital and had the controlling position. 

It was not long before a crisis came. On July 20, 
Otori, the Japanese minister, made certain demands 
on the Corean government, and stated that the pres- 
ence of the Chinese soldiers was a threat to the inde- 
pendence of the country, their general having pro- 
claimed that Corea was a vassal state. On the 22d the 
officials answered that the Chinese had come at their 
request and would stay until asked to leave. The 
next step of the Japanese was a warlike one. On the 
early morning of the 23d two battalions marched 
from their camp, stating that they were going to at- 
tack the Chinese at Asan. But they quickly changed 
the direction of their march, advanced upon the pal- 
ace, drove out the Corean guard, and took possession 
both of the palace and of the king. They declared 
they had come to deliver him from an obnoxious fac- 
tion and restore his freedom of action. 

The Min party was at once driven out and replaced 
by new officials chosen from the progressive faction. 



COREA AND ITS NEIGHBORS. 337 

With a feeble resistance, in which only two men were 
killed and a few wounded, a revolution had been ac- 
complished and a government which favored Japan 
established. The new authorities at once declared the 
Chinese at Asan to be intruders instead of defenders, 
and requested the aid of the Japanese to drive them 
out. War between China and Japan was at hand. 

Hostilities were precipitated by a startling event. 
On July 25 three Japanese men-of-war, cruising in 
the Yellow Sea, sighted two ships of the Chinese 
navy convoying a transport which had on board 
about twelve hundred troops. They were a portion 
of a large force which was being sent to Corea with 
the purpose of reinforcing the troops at Asan and 
expelling the Japanese. 

The Chinese ships were cleared for action, and, 
though the Japanese were ignorant of the late event 
at Seoul, they at once accepted the wager of battle, 
and attacked the ships of the enemy with such effect 
that they were quickly crippled and put to flight. 
The Naniwa, the Japanese flagship, now approached 
the transport, a chartered British vessel named the 
Kowshing and flying the British flag. A boat was 
sent from the Japanese cruiser to the steamer, her 
papers were examined, and orders given that she 
should follow the Naniwa. This the Chinese gen- 
erals refused to do, excitedly declaring that they 
would perish rather than be taken prisoners. Their 
excitement was shared by the troops, who ran wildly 
about the deck, threatening the officers and the 
Europeans on board with death if they attempted 
to obey the order of the enemy. 

22 



338 HISTORICAL TALES. 

They trusted to the protection of the British flag, 
but it proved of no avail, for the captain of the 
Naniwa, finding his orders defied, opened fire on the 
transport, with such effect that in half an hour it went 
to the bottom, carrying down with it over one thou- 
sand souls. The officers, the Europeans, and many of 
the Chinese sprang overboard, but numbers of these 
were shot in the water by the frantic soldiers on board. 
In all only about one hundred and seventy escaped. 

This terrible act of war at sea was accompanied 
by a warlike movement on land, the Japanese forces 
leaving Seoul on the. same day to march, on Asan 
and expel the Chinese. On the 29th they attacked 
the enemy in their works and quickly drove them 
out, little resistance being made. These events pre- 
ceded the declaration of war, which was made by 
both countries on August 1, 1894. 

The story of the war that followed was one of 
unceasing victory for the Japanese, their enemy 
making scarcely an effort at resistance, and fleeing 
from powerful strongholds on which they had ex- 
pended months of hard labor with scarcely a blow 
in their defence. Such was the case with Port Ar- 
thur, which in other hands might have proved a Gib- 
raltar to assailing troops. The war continued until 
April 17, 1895, when a treaty of peace was signed, 
which remarkably changed the relative positions of 
the two powers before the world, China having met 
with utter and irretrievable defeat. The war yielded 
but a single event of novel interest, the famous naval 
battle of Hai-yang, which we shall describe more at 
length. 



THE BATTLE OF THE IRON- 
CLADS. 

In these latter days the world seems overturned. 
Events of startling interest are every year taking 
place, new discoveries are made, new inventions 
produced, new explorations completed, peoples and 
tribes formerly not even known by name are be- 
coming prominent in daily history, and nations 
which seemed sunk in a death-like slumber are 
awakening and claiming a place among the leading 
powers of the world. And of all these events per- 
haps the most astounding is that which took place 
in September, 1894, the battle of iron-clads in the 
Yellow Sea. 

About forty years before there had begun among 
Western nations a remarkable revolution in naval war- 
fare, the substitution of the iron-clad for the wooden 
man-of-war. During the interval this evolution of 
the iron-clad had gone briskly on, until by 1894 the 
nations of Europe and America possessed fleets of 
such wonderful powers of resistance that the naval 
artillery of the past would have had no more effect 
upon them than hailstones upon an iron roof. But a 
revolution in artillery had also taken place. The old 
smooth-bore guns had been replaced by great rifled 
cannon capable of sending a heavy ball for ten or 
twelve miles and of piercing through steel plates of 

339 



340 HISTORICAL TALES. 

moderate thickness as through so much paper. With 
these came the quick-fire guns, from whose gaping 
mouths cannon-balls could be rained like the drops 
of a rapid shower, and the torpedoes, capable of 
tearing ruinous holes in the sides and bottoms of 
the mightiest ships. 

Such was the work that was doing in the West 
while the East slept calmly on. But no occasion 
had arisen for putting to the proof these great float- 
ing engines of war. Theories in abundance were 
offered of the probable effect upon one another of 
two modern fleets, but the dread of terrible results 
had a potent influence, and fear of the destructive 
powers of modern ships and armies had proved the 
strongest of arguments in keeping the nations of 
the world at peace. 

The astounding event spoken of is the fact that 
the iron-clad battle-ship of the present day was first 
put to proof in the waters of the Yellow Sea, in a 
war between two nations which half a century be- 
fore were hardly beyond the bow-and-arrow stage 
of warfare, and were still novices in the modern art 
of war. The naval inventions made in Europe and 
America had their first trial in a conflict between 
China and Japan, and the interest with which mari- 
time nations read of the doings of these powerful 
engines of war in those far-off waters was intense. 

Japan had been alert in availing itself of all the 
world knew about war, providing its army with the 
best modern weapons and organizing them in the 
most effective European method, while purchased 
iron-clads replaced its old fleet of junks. China, 



THE BATTLE OF THE IRON-CLADS. 341 

though doing little for the improvement of its army, 
had bought itself a modern fleet, two of its ships, the 
Ting-yuen and Chen-yuen, having fourteen inches 
of iron armor, and surpassing in size and strength 
anything that Japan had to show. These vessels 
were all armed with the most effective of modern 
weapons, were handled by men trained in the theories 
of European war, and seemed capable of the most 
destructive results. 

On the 17th of September, 1894, an epoch-making 
battle of these iron-clads took place. It was a re- 
markably different event from the first engagement 
of this sort, that between the Monitor and the 
Merrimac in Hampton Eoads, for the guns now 
brought into play would have pierced the armor of 
those vessels as if it had been made of tin. The 
Japanese squadron had just convoyed a fleet of trans- 
ports, bearing ten thousand troops and thirty-five 
hundred horses, to Chemulpo, near the Corean capital. 
The Chinese squadron had similarly convoyed four 
thousand troops to the Yalu Eiver. These were 
landed on the 16th, and on the morning of the 17th 
the fleet started on its return. On the same morning 
the Japanese fleet reached the island of Hai-yang, 
leaving their torpedo-boats behind, as there was no 
thought of fighting a battle. About nine o'clock 
smoke was seen in the distance, and at eleven-forty 
the Chinese fleet came into sio-ht. 

The Japanese fleet consisted of ten vessels, the 
First Flying Squadron, consisting of four fine cruisers 
of high speed, and the Main Squadron, composed of 
six vessels of lower speed. There were two smaller 



342 HISTORICAL TALES. 

ships, of no value as fighting vessels. The Chinese 
fleet was composed of twelve vessels and six tor- 
pedo-boats, though two of the vessels and the tor- 
pedo-boats were at a distance, so that the effective 
fighting force on each side was composed of ten 
ships-of-war. The Chinese fleet included the two 
great ships already named, the Ting-yuen and Chen- 
yuen. The latter, as has been said, were heavily 
armored. The other Chinese ships were lightly pro- 
tected, and some of them not at all. None of the 
Japanese vessels had external armor, their protection 
consisting of steel decks and internal lining down 
to the water-line. 

On perceiving the enemy's ships, Admiral Ito, of 
the Japanese fleet, at once gave orders to his cap- 
tains to prepare for action. Ting, the Chinese ad- 
miral, did the same, drawing up his fleet in a single 
line, with the large ships in the centre and the 
weaker ones on the wings. Ito, who proposed to 
take advantage of the superior speed of his ships 
and circle round his adversary, drew up his vessels 
in a single column with the Flying Squadron at the 
head. 

The action began at 1 p.m., the Chinese opening 
fire at about six thousand yards, the Japanese re- 
serving their fire until at half that distance. Ito 
headed his ships straight for the centre of the Chi- 
nese line, but on drawing near they swerved so as to 
pass the Chinese right wing, their speed being at 
the same time increased. As the Yoshino, which 
led the movement, came up, she became a target for 
the whole Chinese fleet, but her speed soon carried 



THE BATTLE OF THE IRON-CLADS. 343 

her out of danger, the Flying Squadron sweeping 
swiftly past the Chinese right wing and pouring a 
deadly fire on the unprotected vessels there posted 
as they passed. The stream of shells from the rapid- 
fire guns tore the wood- work of these vessels into 
splinters and set it on fire, the nearest ship, the 
Tang Wei, soon bursting into flames. 

The Japanese admiral, keeping at a distance from 
the large central vessels with their heavy guns, and 
concentrating his fire on the smaller flanking ships, 
continued his evolution, the Main Squadron follow- 
ing the Flying Squadron past the Chinese right 
wing and pouring its fire on the second ship in the 
line, the Chao-yung, which, like its consort, was 
soon in flames. This movement, however, proved a 
disadvantage to the slower vessels of the Japanese 
fleet, which could not keep pace with their consorts, 
particularly to the Hiyei, which lagged so far in the 
rear as to become exposed to the fire of the whole 
Chinese fleet, now rapidly forging ahead. In this 
dilemma its commander took a bold resolve. Turn- 
ing, he ran directly for the line of the enemy, pass- 
ing between the Ting-yuen and the King-yuen at five 
hundred yards' distance. Two torpedoes which were 
launched at him fortunately missed, but he had to 
bear the fire of several of his antagonists, and came 
through the line with his vessel in flames. The 
Akagi, a little Japanese gunboat, hurried to his aid, 
though seriously cut up by the fire of the Lai-yuen, 
which pursued until set on fire and forced to with- 
draw by a lucky shot in return. Meanwhile the Fly- 
ing Squadron had wheeled to meet the two distant 



344 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Chinese ships, which were hastily coming up in com- 
pany with the torpedo-boats. On seeing this move- 
ment they drew back and kept well out of reach. 
Somewhat later these vessels took part in the ac- 
tion, though not an important one. At 2.23 p.m. the 
Chao-yang, which had been riddled by the fire of 
the Main Squadron, sank, the cries of the drowning 
men sounding above the roar of the cannon as she 
went down. 

As a result of the Japanese evolution, the two 
squadrons finally closed in on the Chinese fleet on 
both sides and the battle reached its most furious 
phase. The two flag-ships, the Japanese Matsushima 
and the Chinese Ting-yuen, poured the fire of their 
great guns upon each other with terrible effect, the 
wood-work of the Chinese iron-clad being soon in 
flames, while a shell that burst on the Matsushima ex- 
ploded a heap of ammunition and killed or wounded 
eighty men. Fire broke out, but it was soon ex- 
tinguished. Almost all the Japanese gunners were 
killed, but volunteers pressed forward to take their 
place, among them even the band-players. 

On the Chinese flag-ship the flames drove the gun- 
ners from their pieces, and she would probably have 
been destroyed had not the Chen-yuen come bravely 
to her aid. The fire was finally extinguished by the 
aid of some foreigners who were on board. It may 
be said here that the fire-drill of the Japanese was 
far superior to that of their foes. 

The Japanese continued their circling movement 
around their slower antagonists, pouring a concen- 
trated fire upon the weaker vessels, of which the 



THE BATTLE OF THE IRON-CLADS. 345 

Chih-yuen was sunk at about 3.30 p.m. and the King- 
yuen at 4.48. By this time the Chinese fleet was in 
the greatest disorder, its line broken, some of its ves- 
sels in full flight, and all coherence gone. The fire 
of the Japanese fleet was now principally directed 
against the two large iron-clads, but the fourteen- 
inch armor of these resisted the heaviest guns in the 
Japanese fleet, and, though their upper works were 
riddled and burnt, they were able to continue the 
battle. 

In the fight here described the Japanese had 
shown a discipline and a skill in naval tactics far su- 
perior to those of their foes. They had kept at a 
distance of about four thousand yards from their 
antagonists, so as to avoid their heavy fire and make 
the most advantageous use of their larger number 
of rapid-fire guns and also of their much better 
marksmanship. The result of the battle was not due 
to greater courage, but to superior skill and more 
effective armament. 

At nightfall, as the torpedo-boats had now joined 
the Chinese fleet, the Japanese drew off, not caring 
to risk the perils of a battle at night with such an- 
tagonists, both sides being also exhausted by the long 
fight. The next morning the Chinese fleet had dis- 
appeared, It had lost four vessels in the fight, and 
a fifth afterwards ran ashore and was blown up. 
Two of the Japanese ships were badly damaged, but 
none were lost, while the total loss in killed and 
wounded was two hundred and eighteen, nearly half 
of them on the flag-ship. The Chinese lost far more 
heavily, from the sinking of a number of their ships. 



346 HISTORICAL TALES. 

Thus ended the typical battle of modern naval 
warfare, one whose result was mainly due to the 
greater speed and rapid evolutions of the Japanese 
ships and the skill with which they concentrated a 
crushing fire on the weak points of the enemy's 
line. The work of the quick-firing guns was the 
most striking feature of the battle, while the absence 
of torpedo-boats prevented that essential element of 
a modern fleet from being brought into play. An 
important lesson learned was that too much wood- 
work in an iron-clad vessel is a dangerous feature, 
and naval architects have since done their best to 
avoid this weak point in the construction of ships- 
of-war. But the most remarkable characteristic of 
the affair is that the battle was fought by two nations 
which, had the war broken out forty years before, 
would have done their naval fighting with fleets of 
junks. 

It may be said in conclusion that the Chinese fleet 
was annihilated in the later attack on the port of 
Wei-hai-wei, many of the vessels being destroyed 
by torpedo-boats, and the remainder, unable to es- 
cape from the harbor, being forced to surrender to 
the Japanese. Thus ended in utter disaster to China 
the naval war. 



PROGRESS IN JAPAN AND 
CHINA. 

We have in the preceding tales brought down 
from a remote period the history of the two oldest 
nations now existing on the face of the earth. There 
are peoples as old, but none others which have kept 
intact their national organization and form of gov- 
ernment for thousands of years. Invasion, conquest, 
rebellion, revolution, have kept the rest of the world 
in a busy stir and caused frequent changes in nations 
and governments. But Japan and China lay aside 
from the broad current of invasion, removed from 
the general seat of war, and no internal convulsion 
or local invasion had been strong enough to change 
their political systems or modes of life. And thus 
these two isolated empires of the East drifted down 
intact through the ages to the middle of the nine- 
teenth century, when their millennial sleep was rudely 
broken and their policy of isolation overthrown. 

This was due, as has been shown, to the coming 
of the navies of Europe and America, bent on 
breaking down the barriers that had been raised 
against the civilization of the West and forcing these 
remote empires to enter the concert of the nations 
and open their ports to the commerce of the world. 
Concerning all this we have no tales to tell, but a 
brief account of the effect of foreign intercourse upon 

347 



348 HISTORICAL TALES. 

China and Japan will fitly serve to close our work 
and outline the recent history of these two great 
powers of the East. 

There are marked differences of character between 
the Chinese and the Japanese, and these differences 
have had a striking effect upon their recent history. 
In the Japanese we find a warlike and aggressive peo- 
ple, a stirring and inquisitive race, not, like their neigh- 
bors on the continent, lost in contemplation of their 
ancient literature and disdainful of any civilization 
but their own, but ready and eager to avail themselves 
of all that the world has to offer worth the having. 
In the Chinese we find a non-aggressive people, by 
nature and custom disinclined to war, asking only, 
so far as outer nations are concerned, to be let alone, 
and in no sense inquisitive concerning the doings of 
the world at large. Of their civilization, which goes 
back beyond the reputed date of the Deluge, they 
are intensely proud, their ancient literature, in their 
conception, is far superior to the literatures of all 
other nations, and their self-satisfaction is so in- 
grained that they still stand aloof in mental isola- 
tion from the world, only the most progressive among 
them seeing anything to be gained from foreign arts. 
These differences in character have given rise to a 
remarkable difference in results. The Japanese have 
been alert in availing themselves of all things new, 
the Chinese torpid and slow, sluggishly resisting 
change, hardly yielding even to the logic of war. 

There is nothing in the history of the world to 
match the phenomenal progress of Japan since the 
visit of Commodore Perry in 1853. If it had been 



PROGRESS IN JAPAN AND CHINA. 349 

the people of the United States, instead of those of 
that archipelago of the Eastern seas, that in this way 
first gained a knowledge of the progress of the outer 
world, they could not have been readier in changing 
their old institutions and ideas and accepting a new 
and strange civilization offered them from afar than 
have been the alert islanders of the East. 

When the American fleet entered the Bay of Tedo 
it found itself in the heart of a civilization and in- 
stitutions a thousand years and more of age. The 
shogun, the military chief, was the actual ruler of 
Japan, as he had been for many centuries before, 
the mikado, the titular ruler, being still buried in 
that isolation into which he had long since with- 
drawn. It was only a dim tradition with the people 
that the mikado had ever been emperor in fact, and 
they looked on him as a religious potentate to be 
worshipped, not as a ruler to be obeyed. The feudal 
system, established in the past centuries, was still 
intact, the provincial lords and princes being held 
in strict vassalage by the shogun, or tai-kun (great 
king), as he then first termed himself. In truth, 
Japan was still in its mediaeval state, from which it 
showed scarcely a sign of emerging. 

The coming of the foreigners made a sudden and 
decided change in the situation. Within less than 
twenty years the whole condition of affairs had been 
overturned ; the shogun had been deposed from his 
high estate, the mikado had come to his own again, 
the feudal system had been abolished, and the people 
beheld with surprise and delight their spiritual em- 
peror at the head of the state, absolute lord of their 



350 HISTORICAL TALES. 

secular world, while the military tyranny under 
which they so long had groaned was irremediably 
annulled. 

Such was the first great step in the political revo- 
lution of Japan. It was followed by another and 
still greater one, an act without a parallel in the his- 
tory of autocratic governments. This was the vol- 
untary relinquishment of absolutism by the emperor, 
the calling together of a parliament, and the adoption 
of a representative government on the types of those 
of the West. In all history we can recall no similar 
event. All preceding parliaments came into exist- 
ence through revolution or gradual growth, in no 
other instance through the voluntary abdication of 
autocratic power and the adoption of parliamentary 
rule by an emperor moved alone by a desire for the 
good of his people and the reform of the system of 
government. 

Japan had learned the lesson of civilization swiftly 
and well, her ablest sons devoting themselves to the 
task of bringing their country to the level of the 
foremost nations of the earth. Young men in num- 
bers were sent abroad to observe the ways of the 
civilized world, to become familiar with its industries, 
and to study in its universities, and these on their 
return were placed at the head of affairs, industrial, 
educational, and political. No branch of modern art 
and science was neglected, the best to be had from 
every nation being intelligently studied by the in- 
quisitive and quick-witted island youth. 

The war with China first revealed to the world the 
marvellous progress of Japan in the military art. 



PROGRESS IN JAPAN AND CHINA. 351 

Her armies were armed and disciplined in accord- 
ance with the best system of the West, and her 
warlike operations conducted on the most approved 
methods, though only native officers were employed. 
The rapidity with which troops, amounting to eighty 
thousand in all, and the necessary supplies were car- 
ried across the sea, and the skilful evolution, under 
native officers, of a fleet of vessels of a type not 
dreamed of in Japan thirty years before, was a new 
revelation to the observing world. And in another 
direction it was made evident that Japan had learned 
a valuable lesson from the nations of Christendom. 
Instead of the massacres of their earlier wars, they 
now displayed the most humanitarian moderation. 
There was no ill treatment of the peaceful inhabi- 
tants, while ambulances and field hospitals were put 
at the disposal of the wounded of both sides, with a 
humane kindness greatly to be commended. 

It is not only in politics and war that Japan has 
progressed. In all other directions activity, intel- 
ligence, and development have been shown. In the 
art of manufacture there has been a steady advance, 
and the island workshops are now coming into active 
competition with those of Europe and America and 
threatening a dangerous commercial rivalry. Steam- 
ship lines, under Japanese control, connect with all 
the leading ports of Asia, and trade is in a flourish- 
ing state. The telegraph and telephone have been 
introduced and are widely extended, while railroads 
connect all the principal cities. The newspaper is 
an established institution in Japan, libraries and col- 
leges are flourishing, a new literature, based on that 



352 HISTORICAL TALES. 

of the West, is in process of evolution, and science 
is making important progress. In short, Japan has 
adopted all the leading institutions of the West, and 
is modifying its native manners and customs with 
remarkable rapidity. 

In this recent evolution of life in Japan we have 
one of the most extraordinary events in the history 
of the world, it having in about forty years emerged 
from the position of a nation almost unknown and 
quite unthought of as a power into that of one of 
the great powers of the world. 

While little Japan has been thus forging swiftly 
ahead, great China has been stolidly holding back. 
It is not that the Chinese lack intelligence or the 
disposition to avail themselves of material advan- 
tages, but that their pride in their own civilization 
and belief in the barbarism of the outer world are 
so deeply ingrained as to make them hard to con- 
vince. Such progressive men as Li Hung Chang 
have had their influence. A navy of modern ships 
was bought abroad, and did the best service shown 
in the war, fighting with courage and resolution, 
while the army, organized on mediaeval principles, 
went to pieces before the skill and intrepidity of the 
Japanese. 

In other directions China has made little progress. 
The telegraph, it is true, is widely in use, but the 
effort to introduce the railroad has proved, so far, 
largely a failure, only some short lines being laid 
down. In this direction, however, the war has some- 
what aroused the government, and there are signs of 
a more rapid future extension of the iron road. But 



PROGRESS IN JAPAN AND CHINA. 353 

in other respects there is little to indicate that China 
has learned much from the short, sharp lesson of 
war, and even the threat to dismember it and divide 
it up among the powers of Europe seems hardly to 
have made a stir in the heart of the torpid leviathan 
of the East. 

Meanwhile the powers of Europe are settling like 
stinging hornets on its coast, Great Britain, Eussia, 
Germany, and France each claiming a foothold on 
its shores, while Japan still holds the port of Wei- 
hai-wei, awaiting the payment of the war indemnity. 
What will be the result it is impossible to foresee. 
China is not a consolidated empire. The emperor 
rather reigns than rules. It is made up of separate 
parts, each largely under provincial rule, and scarcely 
more united than when each was governed by its 
own feudal prince. Different languages are spoken 
in different sections, there are various strands of 
population in the separate provinces, and hostile 
rather than friendly relations exist between north 
and south, east and west. The empire is one that 
might fall asunder at a blow, if struck strongly and 
deeply, and the powers which are now steadily deep- 
ening and widening their influence within the Celes- 
tial Empire may yet decide to strike that blow, and 
divide up China between them as they have already 
divided Indo-China and the continent of Africa. 
These are days of rapid political evolution, and the 
development of colonial empire is one of the most 
prominent phases of recent history. 



23 



Lippincott's New Science Series. 

By Paul Bert. 

First Steps in Scientific Knowledge. 

Adapted and arranged for American Schools by W. H. Greene, 
M.D. With 570 illustrations. Book One. — Animals, Plants, 
Stones, and Soils, 30 cents. Book Two. — Physics, Chemistry, 
Animal Physiology, and Vegetable Physiology, 36 cents. 

Complete in one volume. 375 pages. i6mo. 60 cents. 

" This work will be cordially welcomed by American teachers and students 
who are seeking forjjaids in elementary instruction in the natural sciences. The 
subjects are well chosen, and the simplicity of the experiments and aptness of the 
illustrations combine to make the book one of great helpfulness in teaching the 
sciences in the lower grades of the public schools." — New England Journal of 
Education. 

" So admirable a little book as this might well be made the subject of a dis- 
course on the teaching of natural knowledge, as it is one of the most remarkable 
books ever written for children." — New York School Journal. 

Supt. W. H. Maxwell, of Brooklyn, N. Y., says : "It is, in fact, the first 
book I have found that renders the scientific teaching of science possible in common 
schools." 

Primer of Scientific Knowledge. 

Man — Animals — Plants — Stones — The Three States of Bodies — 
Reading Lessons — Summaries — Questions — Subjects for Composition. 
Translated and adapted for American Schools. 

Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, 36 cents. 

" This is a book of rare merit, and has been translated and carefully adapted 
for use in our American schools. It treats of man, animals, plants, stones, and 
the three states of bodies, and charmingly presents science in reading lessons, in 
suggestive summaries, and by admirable questions, to which are added excellent 
subjects for language and composition exercises. No elementary work could be 
better arranged. It furnishes special information on the topics of which it treats, 
and leads to a general development of the mind of the pupil. The illustrations 
are new and appropriate, and those relating to natural history are drawn from life 
by skilful artists. The child that has mastered this little book has taken a long 
step toward becoming an enthusiastic scientist. It is multum in fiarvo in the best 
sense of the term, — accurate, suggestive, and stimulating to the young mind." — 
Boston Journal of Education. 



J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. 



Lippincott's New Science Series. 



By C. De Montmahon and H. Beauregard. 
A Short Course on Zoology. 

Translated and adapted for American schools by Wm. H. Greene, M.D. 
Profusely illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, 75 cents. 



By John C. Cutter, B.Sc, M.D. 
Beginner's Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. 

144 pages. 47 illustrations. i2mo. 30 cents. 

Intermediate Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. 

Based on Calvin Cutter's " First Book on Anatomy/' etc. 
218 pages. 70 illustrations. 12010. 50 cents. 

Comprehensive Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. 

375 pages. 140 illustrations. 12010. Cloth, $1.00. 



Prepared by Isaac Sharpless, Sc.D., and George M. 

Philips, A.M. 

Sharpless and Philips's Astronomy. 

Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, #1.00. 

Sharpless and Philips's Natural Philosophy. 

i2mo. Cloth, $1.00. 



By Wm. H. Greene, M.D. 
Lessons in Chemistry. 

Second Edition, Thoroughly Revised. By Harry F. Kbllar, Ph.D. 
i2mo. Half roan, $1.00. 



By Annie Chambers Ketchum. 
Botany. 

250 illustrations and a Manual of Plants. 12 mo. Cloth, $1.00. 



J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. 



JUN20 1898 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS J 

028 326 141 4 




